A Legendary Bourn
by I am the Creator God
Summary: Post-Breaking Dawn. Life with Renesmee, Jacob, the Cullens, and Jacob's and La Push's packs. Very long, very wordy, very incomplete. Rated T for language/M for possible future lemons, if I am found to be capable of unabashedly posting them. Pure Canon.
1. Book One: Part One

_Author's Note: _I read all four Twilight books long after the movie came out, not being able to keep myself out of the biggest literary inside-joke since Harry Potter. I honestly didn't think I would like them, so I only bought Twilight. Fourteen hours and no sleep later, I went and got the rest of them. Two days later, I had finished them. Stopping only to explain to my husband what was making me gasp or laugh or cry. For the next two weeks, I did nothing but read the last three books over and over again. Then I found out about Midnight Sun and I read it twice, reading all four books over again to get the full effect. I was obsessed. I started reading FanFic because I couldn't get enough of the Cullens or the Quileutes.

I started with Jacob and Renesmee stories because it seemed to be the natural conclusion to the story and I wanted to see everyone's take on the future of our favorite vampires and werewolves. After reading over a hundred of them, I couldn't stop thinking about Jake and Nessie. What _would_ have become of them? The more I thought about it, the more detailed my guesstimate became. I would go to sleep thinking about it. I would dream about them. I would wake up thinking about them. After obsessing for a few months, my husband was sick of hearing my endless scenario second-guessing. "Would it be like this or like this? What about Renesmee's power? What would Edward do when she grew up?" About three weeks ago, he finally snapped. He demanded I write a story and get it out of my system.

I reread the books, scouring them for hidden meanings. I began studying them, looking up the etymology of words Stephenie Meyer used, looking for a clue as to what came next. I listened to all four audiobooks, taking in the pronunciation of the places and people, immersing myself in the visual world of the Olympic Penninsula in a way that I couldn't at my reading speed. I looked into the Quileute language and stared longingly at pictures of La Push's shores. It took three weeks, but I figured it out. I know what would happen...I think. This is my best guess. I have only taken two big leaps of literary license, but both fit perfectly within Stephenie Meyer's canon. I will reference them when I get to them. I know it's wordy (nearly as wordy as this A/N), but it's nowhere near being done. It only took a few days to write these 17,000 words, so I hope to make it a weekly serial. There will be a few "Books" when all is said and done. I have no doubt I will far surpass 300,000 words. At this rate, it will only take 17 more chapters. I have at least 25-30 plotted out completely in my head and more that are sketches.

I know that authors like to say "Read and Review," but I am a solitary person by nature and I_ know_ that I won't ever respond to anyone's reviews. So, if you'd like to comment, that would be great, but know that it will be received like a penny in a well, lost to the void. Though, I will admit, I probably wouldn't mind answering questions about why I think things would have turned out exactly the way I predict. I have done my research and have thought long and hard about each and every decision and I don't mind sharing my thought process. I will not give out previews, I do not want Beta Readers. When my husband looks up from my monitor and smiles at me, I'll know they're ready and they'll be released.

_Stephenie Meyer:_ Thank you so much for your characters. Thank you for the months of enjoyment I have had in their presence. I have absolutely no claim to them, you've owned them since you dreamed Bella and Edward into existence. I hope you don't mind if I play with them for a while. I hope to return them to you _exactly _the way I found them.

* * *

***

_**If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy**_**.**  
_** They'd write it on my grave or when they scattered my ashes**_**.**  
_** On second thoughts, I'd rather hang around and be there with my best friend, **_  
_**If she wants me**_**.**

--Belle & Sebastian  
_If She Wants Me_

***

A four-year-old-looking Nessie was curled up against my chest, sleeping, as I sat in an overstuffed white armchair at the Cullens' main house. She had fallen asleep a few hours ago and Emmett and I had finally been able to watch something other than Edward-approved TV shows. I understood keeping sex things from her, but there was no point in trying to hide cussing from her when she hung around the pack and Emmett all the time. And there was nothing in war and horror movies that could scare a vampire-hybrid who would only find the spewing blood appetizing. Whatever. I wasn't going to be the one who would piss off Edward and it wasn't like he wouldn't find out. Damn mind-reading bloodsucker.

As if on cue I saw him and Bella jump the river and head into the house through the back door. Bella started walking across the room over to us while Edward walked over to the bottom of the stairs, listening to something I couldn't hear. "Hey, Jake. Thanks for watching her. I think we're going to take her back to the cottage, now."

"No problem, Bells." I yawned and then quickly looked down to make sure my movements hadn't woken her up.

"Wait, Bella." Edward had walked over to her and put an arm around her waist. "Carlisle was waiting for us to come back from hunting to have a family meeting. I think you had better stay also, Jacob."

He didn't have to tell me twice. Staying meant more time with Nessie, even if all I could do was watch her sleep. Her eyelids started fluttering and I lifted her hand to my face so I could see what she saw. We were in the woods, hunting, and she had taken down the biggest buck while I barely managed a small doe. Pssh, only in your dreams, Nessie. Edward rolled his eyes at me as the others came down the stairs.

They were all starting to sit around the oval-shaped dining room table and I got up and walked over, carefully keeping Nessie cradled to me in the same position. Carlisle was the first to speak, "Well, I think we all know that we've had good reason to stay in Forks this past year, but I don't think we can delay the inevitable any longer." My grip on Nessie tightened instinctively. Shit. I knew that this conversation would happen one day, I just thought I'd be better prepared for it when it did. They were going to take her from me? Where? Could I follow? What about my pack? What about Billy? What about my senior year?

As if _she_ was the mind-reader, Esme spoke directly to me. "Jacob, of course Carlisle and I consider you to be a part of this family now. We know how important you are to both Nessie and Bella and we wouldn't dream of leaving you behind if you chose to follow us. Obviously, we know of your responsibilities here, but you should know that we would love for you to join us."

"Thanks, Esme, Carlisle." I looked down at Nessie in my arms. "I don't think I could leave her if I tried." Esme smiled at me warmly. I know it should go against every wolf instinct I have, but I had grown to love the vampires in the room. Well, mostly. Blondie was still a pain in my ass. Still, it felt a little odd to be acknowledged as a part of the Cullen family. I wondered if it had been strange for all the males in the family to take on the name Cullen when they were changed. Or, in Jasper's case, Hale, when he joined the family. I wonder if Alice considered herself a Cullen, a Hale, or a Whitlock. Would Nessie want to keep the name Cullen or would she become a Black? Edward gave me a hard look. I rolled my eyes. The guy was in denial.

No one had noticed the exchange and Carlisle had continued speaking to the group. "So, we're set on Dartmouth? I have already applied for a position at the university's hospital and Bella and I believe she should be able to attend classes in the fall. Jasper, you, Alice, Rosalie, Bella, and Edward will be needing fake transcripts unless you want to do the general ed requirements again." They all scoffed while Bella looked a little disappointed.

"Don't worry," Edward whispered to her, "we'll get all the syllabi for you that you want and you can study those two years on your own." She seemed to brighten at this. I laughed internally, only Bella would be sad to miss two years of required reading.

Carlisle went on. "Jacob, we'll find a high school in the area for you to finish up your last year. Emmett, I'm sure you'll be content just being Emmett for a few years until we move again." Emmett laughed and laced his fingers behind his head as if to illustrate the nothingness he'd be filling his time with. Rosalie looked over and smiled at him, her eyes tracing over the biceps that were very prominent when he was in that position. He caught her eye and winked. Ugh. No doubt what they'd be doing tonight.

"Then, who knows, maybe high school again." There was a collective groan. I wondered if I would be included in that grouping the next time. That would be weird. It was going to be bad enough being the big Native kid in a small New England town, but I couldn't imagine having to go through that pretending to be the adopted sibling of the Cullens. At least I'd get to do high school with Bella. That might be fun.

Esme was describing the house, now. It wasn't in New Hampshire like the school, but across the Connecticut River in Vermont. It was about 20 miles away, but it was situated between two large nature preserves. Perfect for hunting. Edward waited until she had finished describing the area before he reminded them that they already had bought a house in New Hampshire, near the campus. Carlisle and Esme shared an uncomfortable glance before Carlisle turned back to Edward. But Edward was already a step ahead of him, reading his thoughts. He was shaking his head. "No, Carlisle. We've discussed this before. Especially not now, with Bella and Renesmee. Absolutely not."

Carlisle spoke for the benefit of everyone else, though his words did little to catch us up. "We discussed it decades ago, when Jasper was not so disciplined as now and you were the only one without a partner. Things are different now and everyone deserves a chance to decide for themselves."

It was Alice who finally asked what we had all been wondering. Carlisle began explaining himself as Jasper and Bella focused on calming Edward. "I first had the idea back in the 1960's when it rightfully seemed that living history was taking place on college campuses. I spoke to Edward about immersing himself in the entire college experience, aside from attending classes. Not living in a dorm room, for obvious reasons, but participating in a few rallies or even going to a few parties."

Emmett snorted and muttered, "Edward? Party?" I agreed with Emmett. I couldn't even _imagine_ Edward at a party. He'd probably go around checking IDs or call the cops if he saw a joint being passed around. He raised an eyebrow at me. Jesus, Edward, just because I _know_ what a joint is, doesn't mean I _smoke_ them. You're acting like I've never watched TV.

But the mental image of Edward at a party wasn't even the most interesting thought that had resulted from what Carlisle had said and I spoke without thinking. "Man, you guys are _old_!" There were a lot of rolling eyes at the obviousness of my statement and I hurried on to explain myself. "I mean, I knew you guys were old, but I've never really thought about it until you brought up all the history you lived through. You really robbed the cradle, Edward! You're like those girls dating Hugh Hefner, Bells!" Emmett, Jasper and Alice laughed at that, but Bella and Edward narrowed their eyes at me. I just grinned back.

"Maybe you should look at the girl in your arms before you talk about robbing the cradle, mutt!" Rosalie snarled. Emmett and Jasper howled with laughter while Alice's eyes widened and her mouth turned into a shocked and amused "o." Bella and Edward turned their already narrowed eyes towards Rosalie.

She kinda had me there, but I refused to admit defeat. She was nearly the same age as Edward and she just didn't like being called old. "Aww, Blondie, I wasn't calling _you _old. You don't look a day over..." I paused and stared at her intently as if I were really trying to figure out how old she looked. "...30." Alice and Bella giggled as Rosalie's stare turned murderous.

Esme cleared her throat and we all looked down like chastised children. Carlisle continued as if there hadn't been an interruption. "At the time, I had thought that Edward should be the deciding vote, as he would have no one to share the experience with. I also felt like my idea might exclude those of you who didn't feel comfortable being around so many humans. Now, things are different. The college experience is different. I see no reason why any of you should not be able to handle it if you are so inclined."

"What does this second house have to do with anything?" Jasper asked, bringing the conversation back around to where it started.

"It has more to do with the cover stories to be used. Even when some of you have attended college in the past, we've always stuck to the story of adopted siblings. I've never felt comfortable with the obvious couplings while you were attending high school and I don't think I have to tell you that I've received more than one side-long glance when people discovered that the wards in my care were involved with each other while living under my roof. However, I know all of you are adults and I have never forced you to keep your relationships secret. In a college setting, everything is different. No one needs to be related to each other or adopted into the same family. There is a simplicity in a story revolving around a house full of student couples living off-campus together."

I had to give it to Carlisle, his plan sounded perfect. Five teenagers always did seem a little weird for a young doctor and his wife to take in. Aside from the occasional vampire rumors on the reservation about them, there was mostly gossip about the living situation. It seemed like everyone else felt the same way I did about Carlisle's plan. Everyone except Bella and Edward. Jasper noticed their hesitation first and asked Bella what she was worried about. She only had to speak one word, "Renesmee." I guess that would be the hang-up. Could they be the married couple with a kid in the house? I guess that would ruin the whole "college experience" part of his plan. And there's no way they'd live apart from her.

"Bella," Carlisle assured her, "the house would only be needed as a decoy. None of you would have to spend any more time there than you would like or than would be necessary to keep up appearances for the neighbors. College students are on vastly different schedules than normal working people and a lack of routine is almost expected. The house would merely serve as a means to procure the six of you legitimate college personae. Of course, what you choose to make of them is entirely up to you."

Emmett was already nodding his head enthusiastically. "Aw, Jasper, we could finally get those surround-sound speakers that Esme said would ruin the decor. We could have a whole gaming room, with a pool table and a couple of arcade games." I rolled my eyes. Only the Cullens would take their one chance to look normal and ruin things by throwing money at it. "Just think of the parties we--"

Edward cut him off. "Parties? You're on board with this too, Alice? So now the two of you are going to be hanging out with a bunch of humans, partying? Jasper, you can't seriously be considering this? I know how well you've been controlling your thirst, but isn't this a little too much?" From the people he singled out in his rant, Rosalie appeared to be on Edward's side.

Emmett seemed to catch that, too, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon, Babe. It'll be fun...and it might not be a bad thing to have a place to ourselves when everyone's over at the other house." He didn't even bother whispering that to her. Not that it mattered with our hearing. From the low growl that Edward was now emitting, she seemed to be considering this. He was slowly becoming outnumbered. Only Jasper and Bella had yet to say anything.

"As long as we would still be able to live with Renesmee...," Bella began, but her voice trailed off when she saw Edward's disbelief and anger. Edward shot a quick glance over to Jasper and then softened the look on his face before turning back to Bella. Did he really need Jasper to tell him that he was intimidating her? He shot me a look that would have made me raise my arms in defeat if Nessie wasn't in them.

And then Jasper said the one thing that Edward Cullen couldn't argue against. "Bella _wants_ this, Edward. I would think you would want this _for_ her. After all, you are always trying to give her those human experiences you think she missed out on. College is one of them. Besides, the humans will probably all avoid us as usual, anyway."

"Then why do it?" But his resolve had been broken and, across the table, Alice grinned in silent victory as her eyes unfocused on the present.

As Emmett laughed and rubbed his hands together in anticipation, Carlisle spoke again. "If you all are decided, there was one more thing..."

"Wait," Edward cut him off. He turned to look at me. "You can go home, now. I know you're tired." Was he kicking me out? The meeting obviously wasn't over.

"I think I'll wait until you guys are done here to tuck Nessie in."

"Edward," Carlisle's voice held a warning. "Jacob is a part of this family. He is very nearly an adult and he has every right to be here and hear _everything_ I wish to explain." Edward scowled but didn't say anything else. "Some of you, while human, imbibed alcohol." What? _That _was out of nowhere. Where was he going with this? "Alcohol and what people refer to as recreational drugs are a significant part of the college lifestyle. In my travels, I have only met one vampire who has been successful at inebriation. Most vampires, as you would imagine, do not even try. This vampire, however, found that adding blood to hard liquor allowed him to absorb the properties of both. Of course, it took a great deal of liquor to achieve even a moderate level of inebriation. He only tried it a few times before concluding that it wasn't worth the effort. Obviously, he only tried it with human blood and I am unsure that these results could be replicated with animal blood. Jacob, given your past experience with narcotic pain medication, I would assume that an equal amount of liquor would be needed for werewolves." Wait, was Carlisle really giving us all tips on getting drunk?

Edward groaned."Is this really necessary, Carlisle?"

"I have already told you, Edward. Just because _we_ have already had this conversation, does not mean that everyone else is not also entitled to the same information to which you are privy. As for marijuana, all I can venture is an educated guess. While we do not need oxygen nor do we convert it into carbon dioxide, I see no reason why an inhalant such as marijuana smoke could not be absorbed through our lungs. After all, the scent of blood is absorbed in this way and it obviously affects our nervous system. This is even more the case for you, Jacob, as your physiology is not remarkably different at all while in human form from the average human. In both species, though, I believe a larger amount would, again, be needed to achieve the desired results." No one spoke for a while, even after it was clear that he had finished. It was just...weird. Like getting the sex talk from your grandpa. Obviously, it wasn't as uncomfortable as that would have been, but just as awkward. Not even Emmett could think of something stupid to say.

I spoke first. "I, uh, probably should get going." I _was_ sorta regretting not taking Edward up on his offer when I first had the chance. It seemed like the conversation was much more for the vampires' benefits than mine. I already knew about wolves and alcohol. Leah had gotten drunk when she first phased. It took her half a bottle of tequila and even then her metabolism had just made it wear off quickly. She had said that the only good thing to come out of it was that her quick-healing body had allowed her to skip the hangover. "Two more days of Finals starting tomorrow...," my voice trailed off as I realized it wasn't just the beginning of my last days as a Junior, but my last days at La Push's high school.

The entirety of the move began to hit me. In the heat of the moment it was obvious that I'd follow Nessie, but it wasn't until now that I thought of the pack I would leave behind. _My_ pack. Would they be able to hear me if I phased all the way across the country? I know that Leah would do a great job without me, but I felt like I was shirking my responsibilities off on her. What about Billy? How was I going to tell him I was moving across the country with a bunch of vampires. He was still somewhat wary of the Cullens. All except Carlisle, who he had gotten to know while I was healing after the newborn attack. I knew that he was torn about me imprinting on Nessie. He was happy that I was happy and finally over the pain brought about by my love for Bella, but I know that he would have preferred me to imprint on anyone else over a half-vampire. He, like Leah, was not too happy about an unbreakable bond with the Cullens. I also knew Leah was hoping that the relationship developing between her mom and Charlie would not progress any further than it already had. Her greatest fear was that they would marry one day and she would have two bonds tying her with vampires. Still, as prejudiced as Billy was, I felt bad that I would be abandoning him. Especially because it was only a year and a half ago that Rachel had come home and it began to look like his family was coming together again. I sighed when I thought about breaking it to all of them. I'd have to do it soon, before they found out about it by hearing it in my thoughts as a wolf.

I snapped out of my head long enough to notice that the table had cleared and Edward was standing next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder as he read my thoughts. "I'm sorry we have to make you choose, Jacob."

I looked down at Nessie, still sleeping in my arms. "Don't be. I'd give up more for her. I know moving keeps her and Bells safe, that's enough for me. Just do me a favor, alright?" He raised an eyebrow but made no move to respond. "Don't tell her until I get here tomorrow, okay?" It was Bella who agreed. "Are you guys heading back to the cottage?"

Edward turned to Bella. "Go with Jacob, love. I need to talk to Carlisle about the move. I'll meet you out there in an hour." He turned back to me. "Carlisle and Esme want to talk to your father. After you explain things, of course." I nodded, ignored them while they kissed, and walked outside with Bella.

"You alright, Jake?"

"Yeah." I sighed. "I guess I just didn't think I'd have to worry about this for a while. It's not the move that's bugging me, I just dread telling Billy and the pack. It's funny...I never thought_ moving in_ with a bunch of bloodsuckers would be easier than _telling people_ I was." I grinned when she slapped my arm. She had gotten better at controlling her newborn strength.

We made it to their cottage and walked into Nessie's room. I suddenly couldn't pull myself away from her. My emotions were slowly overwhelming me and it seemed like she was the only thing keeping me together. "Bells?" She looked at me from the doorway. "Mind if I stay until Edward comes back?" She smiled and shook her head. I sat down on the edge of her bed. "Wanna keep me company?" I asked, patting the mattress. She crossed the room and sat down next to me. We both stared at Nessie for a while in silence. "So, college, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." After a few minutes of comfortable silence, both lost in our own thoughts, she took my hand. I let her. The coldness of her skin no longer caused me to shiver just as the burning of mine no longer caused her to grimace. It was also easier handling her smell alone. The sensation that felt like someone had forced a mint down my nose was the same whether there was one vampire or ten around and I had learned to ignore it. But by being alone with her I was able to sniff past the too-sweet vampire scent and could actually smell the old Bella underneath. I hoped to her I still smelled like me. Like she wore too much perfume and I needed a bath. Friendships had survived worse. "Thank you for what you said, earlier."

"I meant it. I'd give up anything for her."

"I know you would, but I wasn't talking about that part. Thanks for still thinking about keeping me safe, too. Renesmee isn't the only one that would miss you if you didn't move with us, you know."

I squeezed her hand. "You're still my best friend, Bells. I'd miss you, too." Looking down, I saw Nessie's eyelids flicker. "She's dreaming, again." We each pressed one of her hands to our cheeks and grinned at each other as her unconscious thoughts filled our heads.

***

I drove my Rabbit to see Nessie after school the next day. She was sitting at the dining room table, studying Latin. Edward had wanted her to learn Latin first, saying it would help her learn others later. I thought it was kinda stupid to learn a language that no one spoke anymore. She smiled at me when I walked in and ran to jump into my arms.

"Hey, Nessie. Studying?" She nodded and put her hand to my face, showing me a memory of her dad telling her she was almost ready to move on to a different language. "Oh, yeah?What do you think you'll learn next?" She showed me a textbook for Ancient Greek Edward had bought her. I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Edward." She replayed my muttering, lacing a question in with it. "Never mind," I said, shaking my head with a smile. "Where is everybody, anyway?" She kept showing me images: Carlisle and the hospital, Jasper and his room, and Rosalie and Emmett and the garage. Finally, she showed me an image of her parents, Esme, and Alice running in the woods and put some thirst in the memory so that I understood they were hunting.

I held back a grimace. Lusting after human blood was not a pleasant sensation, but that was the way she had always showed me thirst or the need to hunt, so I was used to it. It was a painful burning, not just an uncomfortable dryness like human thirst, and it always made me sad to know that Nessie had to experience it, even if it wasn't at the level of the rest of her family. Nessie's thirst was the only thing I really held against Edward. On the other hand, there were at least two upsides to her having a vampire for a father: my imprint was less breakable than everyone else's and we would have eternity together.

"Your parents left you alone?" She sighed and showed me a memory of Emmett watching TV, babysitting, until Rosalie announced that she'd be out in the garage and winked at him. He had turned to Nessie to ask if she'd be okay without him and then beat it the hell out of the front door. I groaned and was thankful that Nessie didn't seem to have understood their exchange. I couldn't wait until she shows _that_ to Bella and Edward.

She looked put out when she finished replaying the scene and moved her hand away from my face. "I _am_ old enough to be left alone, you know, Jacob."

Uh oh. She only denied herself the convenience of her power when she was upset. It was as if she knew the lack of contact from her was denying _me_ something, too. That stung. Her age, and subsequent child status in the family, was always a sore spot with her. I tried to get back on her good side. "Oh, _I_ know that, honey. It's just that, well, you know how your dad can get." She seemed appeased and gave me a knowing nod as if to say, "I know _exactly_ how my dad can get."

She nuzzled into my neck while I walked into the kitchen. Esme always kept food in the house for me and my pack. I got some chips from a cupboard and a soda from the fridge and took her back to her work in the dining room. I watched her translate one of Carlisle's old, leather-bound books. "Hey, Nessie?" She looked up. "Do you_ like_ learning all this stuff?" I waved my hand over all the dictionaries and pages she had spread out in front of her. She nodded her head enthusiastically, a wide grin on her face. She leaned forward to show me a memory of Edward promising her a trip to any country whose language she learned. I had to admit, it wasn't a bad incentive. But it also seemed cruel to make her learn all these dead languages first, knowing she couldn't really go anywhere and use them. I doubt he'd let her go to Rome without learning Italian.

I wonder... I put the bag of chips on the table and leaned towards her, whispering conspiratorially. "Nessie, would you want to learn Quileute?" Her eyes widened and she put her hand to my cheek. She didn't know there was such a thing. She nodded so hard I thought she'd break her neck. "My dad has an old textbook of it somewhere, I'll bring it if you want." She nodded again, her eyes still wide. "You'll have to keep it a secret, though. I don't want your dad upset that I'm breaking his dead language rule, okay?" She showed me a memory of the day we hid the TV remote from Emmett in the fridge. We had kept it's hiding spot from Edward, too, when he had helped look to shut Emmett up. Apparently, Emmett whines in his thoughts. "Yeah, like that."

While I really did want to share the language with her, there was a part of me that didn't care about all that tribal heritage crap. The only reason I knew the language was because Billy thought it was important that Ephraim Black's great-grandson learn it. He always said that when he was trying to teach me tribe stuff, _Ephraim Black's great-grandson should know/learn/do..._whatever he was pushing. It was probably also because he knew I'd be the leader of the Quileute Council one day. Poor Embry got roped into it all the time, too. When we were younger, Billy would take Sam and Embry out fishing with us because their dads weren't around, and he would use the trips as an opportunity to teach us the language and the legends. Sam was into that crap even then, but Embry looked just as bored as I did half the time. _Now_, the school in La Push teaches Quileute as part of the curriculum. Anyway, I thought Nessie would get a kick out of us having a secret language together. We just had to keep it from Edward while she was learning it, or else he'd get all butt-hurt and want to learn it, too. He still mopes around when Bella and I go out riding our motorcycles together. He's always fine a few hours later when they get back from "hunting," though.

The other reason I want her to learn it, though, is so that I can finally take her down to La Push. Edward was just as adamant that his daughter not hang out with a bunch of werewolves as he was about Bella doing it a year ago. He knew that there was no keeping me away and he was okay with my pack coming by, but only because there was a house full of vampires around. I knew it was, in part, because the treaty still forbade him from going down there. There's no way he'd let Nessie go somewhere that he couldn't follow. I had tried to guilt him into letting up, telling him I really wanted her to get to know my dad. It didn't work. Instead, Bella and I take her to hang out at Charlie's house sometimes when Billy's over. I figured his promise about letting her go to places where she knew the language was a nice little loophole.

I had to stop thinking about it, they might be home soon. "You almost done with your work?" She shook her head. "I'm taking a nap, then." It was the only fool-proof way of keeping my thoughts from Edward. She rolled her eyes and showed me an image of herself covering her ears while I snored. "Oh, yeah?" I tickled her until she bit one of my hands. "Ow! That hurt, you little brat!" I mussed with her hair and threw out my trash in the kitchen. Then I went to lay down on the couch in the living room, letting her get back to studying.

I awoke to the smell of dinner. Bella was trying to relearn to cook with her new senses. She was able to follow recipes precisely, but she was used to things smelling or tasting a certain way when they were done right. Esme was learning, too, and Edward was helping them. Nessie preferred blood, but Edward and Bella usually made her eat dinner at least a couple of times a week.

She had, eventually, been weened her off human blood. Those few weeks at the end of winter were hell . She was as stubborn as her parents and had put up a fight. She even fasted on both blood and food altogether, hoping her parents would break first. They didn't. Two and a half weeks in, there were dark circles under her small eyes and she would unconsciously project thirst into everyone she touched. When I couldn't take it anymore, I had casually invited her to hunt with me, "just to keep me company." She took down two deer alongside me and I hadn't said a word.

We were still trying to find foods she liked and Bella made a couple of different dishes each time so that she could, at least, sample them. I was more than happy to eat anything left over, seeing as it took a couple of normal human portions to fill me up, anyway. Aside from the obvious raw meats, we had found she liked overly salty and sweet foods. A few months ago, Carlisle had come up with a theory about that. He thought that it was because proteins, salt, and glucose make up part of human blood. I barely passed Biology, so I took his word for it.

"Nessie," Edward called from the kitchen, "Jacob's awake." I heard her footsteps as she ran to me, jumping over the back of the couch to land on my chest. I pretended she'd knocked the breath out of me and she rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

"Hey, kid." She tolerated me calling her that, because it was what I called Seth. She saw Seth as my equal, even if I didn't. "Dinner almost ready?" She touched my face, showing me an egg timer set to five minutes. I laughed. I loved the images she came up with to show me the simplest things. Even in her thoughts she refused to speak. I picked her up and put her on my shoulders, walking into the kitchen. "Hey, Bells. Hey, Edward. Smells good." They said hello and Bella walked over to kiss my cheek. I asked Edward in my head if we were telling Nessie about moving over dinner, he nodded but didn't look up from whatever was in the pot he was stirring.

Nessie jumped off my shoulders and walked along the counter top, looking into bowls and underneath a pot's lid. Edward sighed. "Renesmee, please get off the counter." She shot me a look and then jumped on to my shoulders again. I laughed. "Jacob, she doesn't need your encouragement." What was I around for if I wasn't going to help her break the rules, like I had done for Bella? Her parents were going to be boring and uptight, but her Jacob was going to be exciting and fun. Edward glared at me, but I ignored him.

"So, I missed the six o'clock weigh-in." I brought Nessie around in front of me and held her an arm's length away, pretending to study her. "Oh, yeah. You look _way_ older than you did before I fell asleep." She giggled and Bella smiled.

"Carlisle said that her growth now is slower than it was in her first six months and it should be even slower by her birthday. After that, he thinks it should be pretty constant, if Nahuel's seven years was the norm." Bella was still smiling as she said this. It was a lot easier to talk about her growth now, now that we knew it wasn't sentencing her to an early death. "Go set the table, you two."

We were sitting at the dining room table playing a supernaturally fast and painful game of hot hands when they came in with a few bowls and a couple of plates. Edward rolled his eyes at me. Aw, shut up, Edward. Are _you _going to teach her these kid things? He ignored me, something I learned that he did when he knew I was right. He ignored me, again.

After Bella pointed out what was what, I waited for Nessie to try each of them. They sat down across from us. She grimaced from the first bite of some chicken dish and pushed it over to me. I started in on it.

I started to worry about what would happen to her when we moved. Nessie never really left the two houses or the woods around them and she had never gone farther into town than Charlie's house. When we moved, we would be changing the very limited world she knew. Would she like that? Did she feel claustrophobic here, with her only escape the woods when we were hunting? Or would she freak out by the sudden uprooting of everything stable around her?

On the upside, she didn't know many people and a majority of them would be moving with her. The only people she would really have to miss were my packmates, Charlie, my dad, and Sue. Although, she might see a lot less of her family if they were always over at the second house. Would all the changes be too much for her?

Edward waited until she had taste tested each plate and decided on meatloaf before he started talking. "Renesmee," she looked up at him, furrowing her brow. "Do you know how old Carlisle was before he became a vampire?" She shook her head. "He was 23. Now, in order for him to be old enough to be practicing medicine, he has to tell the hospitals he works at that he's 28. When we moved to Forks five years ago, that's the age he gave them. Which means that he's now trying to pull off an age that's ten years older than the age he appears to be. Now, you know the reason your mother and I don't allow you to go into town often is because no one can see your accelerated growth." She nodded. "Our vegetarian lifestyle allows us to have a home and to stay in one place for a few years, but we have to make sure no one ever suspects anything about us. People who work with your grandfather at the hospital are starting to question his seemingly unchanging appearance. For this reason and also because your mother is now able to handle her thirst well enough to attend college, we will be moving at the end of this summer."

Nessie slammed down her fork, threw herself at me, and sobbed into my neck. I didn't know what to do. I guess all I had been worrying over was what would happen to her once we moved, I hadn't expected her to break down like this. So I just rubbed her back and told her over and over again that everything would be okay. Bella had already gotten up from her seat and dashed over to us, trying to take Nessie in her arms. That just made her cries deepen and her grip on me tighten.

Bella looked over at Edward, who was standing on my either side. "What is she thinking, Edward?" He didn't respond immediately, he seemed to be concentrating on hearing her.

"I'm not sure, her thoughts are hysterical..." His face relaxed and he sighed gently. "Nessie, Jacob _is_ coming with us." Bella and I wore matching looks of understanding before I resumed comforting Nessie. She had started to calm down and she had those double-gasps that happen when you try and take deep breaths after crying.

That was the worst of it. She asked a couple of questions about where we were moving while she finished her dinner. They explained the two living situations, the hunting options, and their night-class schedule. She was sad to be leaving some of her family behind but, overall, she was just excited. As soon as she was done eating, she went online and looked into everything about the area, the college, and what was to be my new high school. Edward had said that I'd use the second house's address in Hanover to enroll at Hanover High. She giggled at something on her screen and as I looked over her shoulder to see what she was pointing out on the Hanover High School website. "Their mascot is the Marauders? What's that?" She giggled again and showed me an image of myself dressed in a full pirate's outfit. I rolled my eyes and Edward laughed.

A while later Alice danced down the stairs with paint samples and fabric swatches. "Nessie, you're going to have to help me decorate your room. No matter what I decide, I can't see if you'll like it. You'll have to decorate Jacob's room, too. Unless...did you want to do it yourself?"

I couldn't tell if she was serious. "I don't think so, Shorty. Nessie'll know what I like. In fact, I should go talk to Carlisle." When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and turned around. "All I want," I began. Alice looked up, intrigued. "Is a huge bed!" Everyone laughed. I climbed the stairs and knocked on his study's door.

"Come in, Jacob."

He set down a medical journal and turned his chair to look at me come in. "Hey, Carlisle. Edward said you and Esme want to talk to my dad."

"Yes, we do." He motioned for me to sit in the chair in front of his desk. "Have you told him about your plans to move with us?"

"No, not yet," I confessed as I sat down. "By the time I got home last night, he was asleep and then I came here right after my last Final to tell Nessie. I've been avoiding phasing so no one finds out but I have patrols tonight, so I was going to go home soon and let him know."

"What do you think his reaction will be to your decision?"

"Honestly, Doc? I'm not sure."

"Should Esme and I wait a few days to speak with him?"

"Nah. It might even be better if you saw him right after."

"I would also like to speak to _you_, but we could do that some other time. Right now, you should go home and speak to your father."

"Sure, sure," I said, standing up. "I have patrols at nine, if you guys wanted to come over then."

"Esme and I will be there. You should also inform Sam that we will be crossing the treaty line. Call us if our presence is a problem and we can make other arrangements, perhaps Bella could make plans for us to meet at Chief Swan's house."

"If Sam has a problem with you guys crossing the line, he'll be reminded of who the true Alpha is."

Carlisle frowned and shook his head. "No, Jacob. You will not antagonize your brother over me or my family, and certainly not over something as trivial as this meeting's venue."

Sometimes Carlisle was too peaceful for his own good. "If you and Esme meant what you told me last night, then you are as much my family, if not more so, than Sam is. And it is _not_ insignificant that my own _family_ would not be allowed on my land, especially when they're not allowed because they're seen as a danger. Sam _will_ trust my family and he _will_ trust my judgment."

Carlisle seemed somewhat taken aback by the passion behind my speech and he smiled at me. I told him I'd see him later and left the room, finding Esme right outside the door. She hugged me. "You don't know how much your words mean to me." I inwardly slapped my forehead. I had forgotten that everyone in the house could hear me. Damn vampiric hearing. I hugged her back and gently got myself out of her embrace, leaving her in the hallway when I figured it wouldn't be rude.

Jasper had joined Alice downstairs and he looked up from his book to smile at what he knew to be my embarrassment. Bella was watching Edward play the piano. He had offered to teach her, but she said she liked hearing him play more than she would like playing herself. Nessie was shopping online with Alice and she smiled at me when I got to the bottom of the stairs. "I gotta go home and talk to Billy, Nessie." She frowned and I laughed as she jumped over Alice's laptop to run over to me. I hugged her when she leaped into my waiting arms. "Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow." I pulled her away to kiss her on the forehead. "Bye, guys," I said over her shoulder. "Bye, Bells, Edward." They all said the same to me and I walked to the door before kissing Nessie again before I put her down. "'Night, Nessie. Love ya, honey."

I was halfway to my car when I heard her say something in that high, sweet voice that melted my heart, "Goodnight, Jacob. I love you, too." It was exactly what I needed to hear. Because I was off to tell Ephraim Black's grandson that Ephraim's last male descendant, the true Chief and Alpha, his son, was leaving La Push.

***

I took a deep breath before letting myself in the front door. My dad was sitting in his chair in front of the TV, watching the news. "Hey, Dad. I need to talk to you before I go on patrol."

He raised his eyebrows, but wheeled himself to the TV to turn it off. "What is it?"

"Well...yesterday I was over at the Cullens' and they were talking, and...uh..."

He interrupted me. "And they're leaving and you're going with them." Huh? Okay, so breaking it to him would be easier than I thought. I must have had my mouth open or something, because he laughed. "Well, yeah. How did you know?"

"Son, I've been waiting to have this conversation with you since the stand-off with those vampires last winter. I'm surprised it's taken this long for them to leave."

"It's not those Italian bloodsuckers this time. Carlisle's just pretending to be too old for his face. People are starting to talk. It's not safe for Ness--I mean--any of them, anymore."

He smirked. "It's okay, Jake. I know what your priorities are. Have you thought about your pack, though?"

I rubbed the back of my neck and let out a slow sigh. "Yeah. I'm going to ask Leah to take over." His eyebrows shot up. I tried to backtrack. "Not give up my claim as Alpha. I mean, I'm still going to have to phase to stay young for--" I cut off, not wanting to say I was doing it all for Nessie. He knew, of course, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of saying it out loud. "So, she'll just take over most of the duties. I mean, Sam's pack does a majority of the patrols, anyway. The pack is so small it's not that much of a burden. She's been doing a lot as Beta--" That fucking eyebrow went up again. "Sorry, that's what Bella calls it, it sorta stuck. Anyway, she already gets a kick out of being an Alpha's Second. The only thing that's going to take some convincing is having her deal with Sam. But I'm hoping I'll still be connected to the pack's mind when I phase, so maybe it won't be so bad and she won't have to do too much."

"How far are you moving that connecting with the pack would be a problem?"

"Oh, I didn't say that, huh?" I decided to put the location on Bella. He still had a soft spot for her. "Well, Bella's gotten really good at controlling her thirst, so she wants to take a stab at college, and she enrolled at Dartmouth. It's a really good school. Ivy League and all that. It's in New Hampshire right on the Vermont border." I added the last part because I didn't even know where it was until a few hours ago when Nessie looked it up. I think Esme had said it the night before when she was talking about the two houses, but I hadn't been paying attention to the the details at the time. I'm glad I had been looking at the map over her shoulder, I would have looked pretty stupid if he knew that I had blindly agreed to follow them without knowing where the hell we were going.

"And what about your schooling?"

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. He had never once even _brought up_ the topic of my education. In fact, he hadn't even given a damn when I skipped the entire fall semester last year. The only reason I had gone back after winter break was because Bella had pushed the issue and Edward had threatened to stop letting Nessie hang out with "an ignorant ass." It was the harshest word I had ever heard him say, so I believed him. I felt like answering him like the ass Edward thought me to be, but I figured it wouldn't help my situation. Instead, I told him that Carlisle had already planned on enrolling me in a high school in the area. Which reminded me of their visit. He seemed to be out of objections, anyway. "I'm going to have to go on patrol soon, but Carlisle and Esme wanted to come talk to you when I left. Is that okay?"

"Sure, sure," he said as he rolled himself back to the TV and turned it on again.

I was halfway to the phone, preparing what I would say to Sam, when it started ringing. "Hello?"

"Jacob..." It was Sam. Shit. "Do you have any idea why Cullen and his mate just drove across the treaty line?" What an ass.

"Yeah, Sam. I was just about to call you. _Carlisle_ and his _wife_ are heading over to my house." I heard the beautiful engine of Carlisle's Mercedes as it got closer to my door. "In fact, they're here now, so I gotta go."

"Jacob," he continued in the same condescending voice as earlier, "you should have warned me _before_ my boys caught their scent on our land."

"Look, Sam, if you want to continue this, I'll be phased in a few minutes and we can talk Alpha to Alpha. Right now, though, I have company." I hung up on him.

"You should have warned him, " Billy scolded.

"Sure, sure," I brushed him off and then opened the front door before they could knock. "Hey, guys. C'mon in."

Esme gave me a hug before walking over to Billy, who was turning off the TV, and bending down to kiss him on the cheek. He was a little taken aback and he reflexively grimaced when he caught her scent. I hoped she wouldn't notice. She did. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought it was just the wolves that could--"

He cut her off, turning on that old Billy Black charm. "No, _I'm_ sorry. Please, welcome to our home." He motioned for her to sit on the loveseat.

Carlisle had stopped by me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You didn't tell Sam?" He whispered it so that Billy couldn't hear and Esme pretended not to. I looked at the floor and shook my head. It was harder to blow off Carlisle than it was Billy. I didn't even try. I didn't _want_ to try. He pat me on the back and then walked forward to shake my dad's hand. I closed the door.

"...And now it's just you and Jacob?" Esme was asking.

"And one of my girls, Rachel. She's over at Paul's."

"Paul's in Sam's pack, right? Is he Rachel's imprint?"

"No...I mean...Rachel is _Paul's_ imprint."

"Oh...It's just...from the way Edward's explained it...I mean...from Nessie's thoughts..." She looked flummoxed. Things had definitely not been going smoothly for her. I decided to help her out.

"It's just that Edward's seen imprinting from the wolf's perspective. Even though we're the ones that imprint, we belong to our imprints, even though they're not necessarily ours. That's why Nessie sees me possessively, as hers, in her thoughts." Billy didn't seem to like that. Carlisle gave me a grateful smile. I shrugged, I had tried. Carlisle, Esme, and I turned our head towards my front door as Sam's scent approached us. Shit! Billy followed our gaze and looked confused when all he saw was the closed door.

Carlisle made a show of checking the Rolex he didn't need. "I think you're late for your patrol, Jacob. You don't need to stay for our benefit. Tomorrow is your last day of Finals?" I nodded. "Your shift will be over with enough time for you to study and get some rest?" I nodded. He didn't have to know that I didn't study for Finals...that I didn't _study_.

Billy looked a little put out by this conversation. It seemed like Carlisle was saying everything he should say, but never did. I tried not to meet his eyes. Esme got up to give me a hug and to kiss me on the cheek. "Be safe, dear. If you have time tomorrow morning, come by and I'll make you breakfast. If not, come by after school and I'll have a cake ready to celebrate the end of your school year."

I grinned and hugged her. "Thanks, Esme." That reminded me... "Dad, if you go to bed before I come back, can you leave out that old Quileute textbook you have? I want to teach it to Nessie." He looked surprised, but agreed. I turned to Carlisle and Esme. "You guys didn't hear that."

Carlisle gave me a knowing smile and Esme sighed, saying, "I guess I'll be reciting a lot of poetry for the next couple of days." Carlisle and I laughed, Billy just looked confused...again.

I was opening the door when Carlisle called after me. "There'll be a thunderstorm tomorrow night." I had heard all about the supernatural version of baseball they played during storms but I'd never played with them before. In fact, one night Emmett had felt the need to relive a game with me, play by play.

I grinned. "Nessie, Bella and I haven't been able to play, yet. Edward's going to have to run to catch her balls!" Carlisle and Esme copied my smile and nodded their heads. "Bye, guys, see ya tomorrow. 'Night, Dad." I didn't have to look over to know what his expression would be.

Poor, Billy. Seeing me interact with Carlisle and Esme had really thrown him for a loop. I wonder if that's the look every parent has when they see their child interact with their in-laws and it dawns on them that they belong to another family, too. I don't know if it'll make it harder or easier to see me go. I couldn't dwell on this now.

Opening my front door, I walked outside to face Sam. He was in the woods on the side of my house, still in wolf form, sitting on his haunches. I didn't speak to him, I just undressed and tied my clothes to my leg, phasing in front of him. I was in the same position he was in, sitting directly across from him, our noses nearly touching. I was much taller than him, now, and I took pride in being able to look down my snout at him. _**Sam**_**. **I had to consciously speak to him, it had taken some getting used to. We usually didn't talk to each other this way. I wondered if he hadn't phased back because he didn't want Carlisle and Esme to hear our conversation. I was kinda hoping he wouldn't hear _theirs_.

I could feel Leah's presence, waiting to change shifts with me. She was trying not to think, she wanted to hear our conversation. _Damn right, I do. _I mentally rolled my eyes at her.

_**Hello, Jacob. **_**Now****_ are you going to tell me why the bloodsuckers are on our land?_**

_What bloodsuckers? The Cullens? What's he talking about?_

_Shut up and listen. Just know that I'm not telling him the whole truth because there's something I need to tell you first. __**They came here to talk to Billy.**_

_**Why? Is there anything I should know about? Did the psychic have a vision?**_

_**No, **_**Alice**_** did not have a vision. They just wanted to speak to a Council member.**_

_**Why?**_

_Yeah, why?_

_**That's none of your business.**_

_None of whose business? Mine or his?_

_**If it has to do with La Push it sure as hell is my business.**_

_If you'd just shut up, Leah, maybe you wouldn't get confused. __**Look, Sam. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I lost track of time. Thank whoever found their scent for me for letting them pass without stopping them.**_

_**No, they probably should have stopped them. Now, what's this all about, Jacob?**_

_Yeah, what's going on? Why don't you want to tell Sam the truth?_

_Shut up, Leah. __**You'll find out soon enough, Sam. Now, I've got Leah in my head and she's bugging the piss out of me. I'm sure you remember what that's like. **_Leah growled at me. _**So, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to talk over with my Second.**_

_**You're being extremely disrespectful to me, Jacob. If this has anything to do with our land or the safety of our people, I need to know what it is. I don't see why you would tell Leah what's going on, yet you refuse to tell your fellow Alpha.**_

_Jesus, Leah, what the hell did you see in this guy__? _She growled at me, again._**I'm going to tell Leah because she's my Second and she's in my pack. **__**You, however, have lost the privilege of being in my head. Or don't you remember?**_

_Ooh, low blow, Jake._

_Shut up, Leah!_

Sam snorted out of his snout. _** Some privilege.**_

_**Whatever, Sam. I gotta go change shifts with Leah. Anything I should know about?**_

_**Oh, so now we're sharing information?**_

_He's got you there._

_Shut up, Leah! __**No, Sam. I guess not. I'll explain everything to you later. Say hi to Emily for me. **_I turned and ran off to meet up with Leah.

_Okay, _now_ will you tell me what the hell's going on?_

_I will in a sec, where are you?_

_The woods by Second Beach. I guess I'm waiting here for you?_

_Yeah. _I made it toher a minute later. I sat in front of her, giving her more space than I had given Sam.

_So. What's so important that you had to hide it from Sam?_

_I wasn't hiding it from Sam, I just wanted to talk to you first._

_Who's talking to Billy? Why did they want to meet with an Council member?_

_They didn't want to meet with an Council member, they wanted to meet with Billy._

_You're not making any sense, Jake._

_Carlisle and Esme wanted to meet with Billy because he's my dad, not because he's an Council member._

_Oh. Why?_

_The Cullens are moving._

_Really!?! That's great! I mean, there won't be any new wolves. Who knew three guys could have so many great-grandchildren, anyway? _She had stood up and began pacing back and forth, obviously excited. _There might even be less need for patrols without having to worry about vampires stopping by to see them. No more Volturi, no more... _She stopped pacing and her head suddenly whipped around to face me. I could see the gears finally click into place. She was thinking about Renesmee, she understood why Carlisle and Esme were talking to Billy. _You're going to follow her, aren't you? _Now she was pissed. I nodded._ You stupid asshole. You're going to leave your home for a filthy bloodsucking leech?_

I growled at her, bearing my teeth. _ Don't. You. _Ever_. Call her that again. _ I calmed myself down before directing my thoughts at her again. She knew to give me time and she stayed quiet._ I know you have a thing against imprints, but you know how it works. I can't be away from her. Her family has to move to protect themselves and her. I have to do whatever's best for her. It will only be for a couple of years._

_And then what? You'll come back to Forks. Bullshit. It took them seventy years to come back last time, you think they're going to go out of their way for you?_

_We don't know what will happen when Renesmee grows up. In a few years, she'll be old enough to make her own decisions. Maybe we could move back then._

_Oh, yeah. I forgot. Mr. Pedophile's gonna shack up with an eight-year-old. I'm sure Bella and Edward will go for that._

_What do you want me to do, Leah? I know you think we're all a bunch of weak males, being led around by our dicks. I know you think we can fight it. We can't, Leah. Besides, in a couple of years, it's going to be noticeable that we're not aging, either. Then we'll be in the exact same position the Cullens are in. We'll have to leave our home, anyway._

_And what? You just planning on pawning off all of your responsibilities on me while you went off to be with the jail bait "love of your life?" I was going to stop phasing as soon as I could manage it. I was going to get out of here. I was going to get away from all this shit._

_So you were going to give up La Push, too._

I'm_ not _Alpha_._

_I'm not arguing with you, Leah. I've made my decision to leave with my imprint. Now, I made you my Second for a reason. I trust you with my pack. I trust you to do the right thing. I trust you to stand up to Sam when he's being an ass. If you don't want to take over for me __when I leave, not _if_ I leave, but _when_ I leave, then I can ask Seth or Embry or Quil to do it and you can become my Third. It's up to you. It's your choice._

_Bullshit! You know, you always said you wouldn't pull that Alpha shit with us, that you'd always give us a choice! But this isn't a choice! This is an Alpha command wrapped up as an ultimatum that you're trying to pass off as a choice! Well, fuck you, Jacob Black! Fuck you!_

As she hurled these thoughts at me, she advanced on my slouched sitting form until we were nose to nose. When she finished, she ran. There was no point in following her, she could outrun me. Besides, there was nothing left to say.

***

I saw Seth at school, in between Finals, and made the mistake of mentioning the cake Esme had promised me. So, together, we drove over to the Cullens' after our last Final on the last day of school. It was overcast, but there was no rain. I knew that would change by the time we got to the field later tonight. Alice was never wrong. Especially about something as unchanging as the weather.

I had talked to Seth about the move on the way over. He had already heard about it from Leah, who had come into the house cursing and screaming after leaving me in the woods. Seth didn't seem to care that I was leaving. He liked the Cullens and he wasn't against the idea of imprints. He saw how happy every imprinted male was and he wanted it.

"Not right away, you know. I still want to finish high school and go to college. I don't mind if I don't find her for a while. I just don't want to settle, you know. And as much as Leah bitches about it and says she wants to stop phasing, I don't think she will until she imprints. No one would willingly give up _that _kind of love. Besides, I think it's the only way she'd ever really get over Sam and what he did to her. I mean, look at you and Bella. I mean, you're going to move in with Bella and her _husband_. Can you even imagine Leah and Sam having a civilized _conversation_? It's not all Sam's fault, either. I wanted to blame him, too, in the beginning. I mean, Leah's my sister and Emily's _my_ cousin, too. I saw him as the bad guy for a while. And then I realized that _he_ was really trying and Leah wasn't having any of it. Not that I really _blame_ her..."

That's the thing about Seth. You don't have to do much talking when you're around him. It was ten more minutes of that before we were at the Cullens'. Nessie came out to meet us on the front porch, covered in chocolate frosting. I don't know how she did it, especially because she has reflexes that are better than any human alive. She probably did it on purpose. You were supposed to get dirty when you were baking, so she did.

She jumped into my arms and I kissed her on the cheek, hitting one of the spots of frosting. She giggled when she saw me licking it off my lips. "Hey, Nessie. Is our cake done?" She nodded. "Good, we're starving." She shook her head and put on a serious face, too serious for it to be genuine. Then she showed me an image of sandwiches and chips. "We have to eat lunch first?" She nodded, still serious. "Please," I pleaded, because that's what she wanted. She shook her head. "Fine," I sulked.

She turned her attention to Seth. She jumped from my arms into his. "Hey, Nessie. You made us lunch and everything?" She nodded, smiling. She put her hand on his face and showed him something. "Oh, no, I haven't forgotten." She jumped off and ran inside.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, uh, she was just showing me lunch."

I was halfway to the kitchen before I remembered the Quileute book in the car and went back outside for it. I found Nessie, Seth, Esme, and Alice in the kitchen. Seth was already starting in on his sandwiches and Nessie and Esme were finishing up frosting the cake. Alice was looking through fabric swatches again. They looked like nylon and I figured I didn't want to know.

"Hey, guys. Where are Bella and Edward?"

Alice answered, but she didn't look up. "Hey, Jake." She was the only Cullen who had adopted Bella's nickname for me. "They went to tell Charlie that we're moving."

"Good." That piqued her attention. I pulled out the Quileute book and put it on the counter. "There you go, Nessie. It shouldn't be too hard to learn, not for you anyway. It's actually a pretty unique language, something about the sounds it doesn't make and the words that are dozens of letters long and mean whole sentences."

Alice picked up the book and skimmed through it while Nessie washed up and Esme put the cake in the fridge. She laughed.

"What?" I asked through a bite of my sandwich.

"Kitlayakwokwilkwolasstaxasalas. It means, 'those are the people who think that I am the one who is going to Forks.' Oh, yeah, Nessie. Piece of cake." She handed the book to Nessie as Seth snorted. "Why are you having her learn this, anyway? The future Chieftess needs to know the language of the people?" Seth snorted again, but Esme and I gave her a hard look to shut her up. Thankfully, Nessie was oblivious as she started reading, sitting cross-legged on top of the kitchen counter.

I decided to answer Alice as if nothing had happened. "Promise not to tell Edward, at least until she's learned it?"

Alice's eyes lit up. "Ooh, a secret? From Edward? I'm in!"

Seth put his hands over his ears. "I shouldn't hear this. I already know too much and Edward sees right through me. He always figures it out when I'm trying to block him and then I can_ only _think about what I'm _not_ supposed to be thinking about." He started humming.

Esme walked out of the kitchen. "I'm not keeping anything more from my son. I've already been reciting poetry around him. He knows some thing's up."

Alice was all but bouncing in anticipation. "Oh, just spit it out already. You're killing me."

Nessie was looking up over the top of the book. I looked at her and asked, "How fast can you read that?"

Alice looked over her shoulder. "She's almost halfway done, already."

"And you you'll be able to remember it perfectly, right?" Nessie nodded and gave me a look as if to say "obviously."

"So what's the secret? Why do you want her to learn Quileute?"

Nessie looked up. I hadn't told her that there was a reason behind it at all. She was just as curious as Alice, she was just more confused than her aunt. Alice never needed a reason to keep a secret from Edward. "Well, did you know that Edward made Nessie a promise? That if she learned a country's language, he would take her there."

"Yeah...Oh! Wow! You've found the perfect loophole! Oh my God, Jake, it's _genius_! I've _never_ seen Edward tripped up by his own rules! I've waited _decades_ for this to happen to him! My brother's going down!"

I'm not sure Nessie understood what was going on, but we both couldn't help getting wrapped up in Alice's enthusiasm. I just grinned at her as I gave Seth the all-clear to move his hands from his ears. We were finishing our lunch when Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie came back from hunting and met up with us in the kitchen.

Seth and I said hi to everyone, Nessie just smiled at them and then went back to reading. Rosalie gave me a dirty look, but she smiled at Seth. Yeah, I get it. It's not a werewolf thing, it's a _me_ thing.

"Oh, Jazz," Alice gushed. "It's _wonderful_! Jake's figured out a way to trip up Edward with his _own rules_! He's—oh, Seth, cover your ears." Jasper and Rosalie looked at Seth like he was crazy because he obeyed Alice immediately, covering his ears and humming. Emmett just laughed. "Seth can't keep secrets from Edward." She explained in a rush. "Anyway, Jacob's figured out a way to get Nessie to visit La Push!" Jasper and Emmett raised their eyebrows skeptically and Nessie lifted her head from the book, the plan finally completed in her head. She smiled at me and I smiled back, she went back to reading.

Rosalie huffed. "And this is a good thing, _why_? Do you all _want_ your niece hanging out with a bunch of dogs?" Well, maybe it _was_ more than just a _me_ thing.

Everyone ignored her and Alice went on as if she hadn't said a word. "No, really, guys, it's perfect! He's told Nessie that she can visit any place as long as she's learned the language. So..._get this_...the boy's teaching her _Quileute_!" Jasper got it first and let out a loud roar of laughter. It was infectious and soon I was laughing, too.

It took Emmett a little bit longer. "But how's...Oh!" He bent over kitchen counter in laughter. "Oh, man! Edward's going to be so pissed!"

Seth uncovered his ears hesitantly when he saw everyone laughing. "Can I listen, now?" I nodded.

Emmett stopped laughing just long enough to give me a hard slap on the back. "I underestimated you, Jacob. You're going to fit in perfectly in this family." He looked over at Rosalie, she was still scowling. "Oh, c'mon, Baby. Think of how pissed Edward's going to be."

"Who cares if Edward's upset? You guys are telling me you're all fine with Nessie hanging out with those _mongrels_, on _their_ land, where we're _forbidden_?"

Seth, who hadn't heard her first comment because he was covering his ears, looked hurt. He opened his mouth to say something, but I spoke first. "And what do you think we're going to do with her once she's there? Hold her hostage? Sacrifice her to our primitive gods?"

"Don't be stupid, Rose. Jake wouldn't let anything happen to her. Quil's imprint is a little girl and she's fine hanging around them all the time." I didn't tell her that none of the imprints were actually allowed around the wolves when they were phased. "Besides, there's nothing you can do about it. Edward made up the rule and when Nessie learns Quileute, there's not going to be a single thing he can do to keep her from going."

As if on cue, Nessie raised her eyes from the book and slammed the covers together with a huge grin on her face.

I nearly choked on my soda. "Done?" She nodded. "Really?" Her smiled widened and she nodded again. I decided to test her. "Ayásochid*?"

She cleared her throat before responding in her soft, high voice, "Háҫhli, ho**."

I grinned. Beside me, I heard Seth's jaw drop. "Did she really just learn Quileute?"

"I think she did, Seth! I think she now knows more Quileute than the both of us combined!" I walked over to her and picked her up off the counter, spinning her around. She giggled and I hugged her.

Alice was staring off into space. Then she snapped back to the present. "Jake. Quick. Hide the book. They're almost back and Edward _will_ find it if it's in the house."

I set Nessie back down on the counter and sped back to my car, hiding the book under random junk in my backseat. I ran back into the kitchen and stopped in front of Nessie. "It's a secret, remember?" She nodded and showed me a picture of her "locking" her lips and throwing away the invisible key. I rolled my eyes. "You know you could have actually _done_ that, right?" She nodded and giggled. "You understand why Edward's going to be upset, right?" She nodded and showed me driving her past the La Push sign on the highway. I smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

We all froze as we heard their car pull up. Before I could blink, Alice had a piece of cake in front of Seth. "Eat. Think about how good it is." I sat down as she put one in front of me and then shooed her husband, brother, and sister out of the kitchen.

It _was_ good. "It's delicious, honey." Seth mmm'd in agreement. She blushed. That girl's good at everything, but she never believes it. She must have inherited her self-esteem from her mother. Oh well, it was better than her being a cocky asshole like her father.

"No, Jacob. Please. Tell me what you really think about me." Nessie threw herself at her parents as they walked into the kitchen.

I just took another bite of my cake and ignored him. "Hey, Bells," I said with my mouth full.

Seth didn't look up at them when he said hi, just concentrated on his cake. Edward gave him a puzzled look. "Good cake, Seth?" He just nodded. Man, he _was_ really bad at this.

Edward looked at me. "Bad at what, Jacob?"

I changed the subject. "How did it go at Charlie's, Bells?"

She sighed and started to respond when Edward cut her off. "Bad at what, Jacob? Keeping me out of his thoughts? And why are my brothers and sisters keeping me out, too?"

Seth's eyes widened and he shoveled another bite into his mouth.

"Rosalie? What's going on?" My head dropped when he stood still for a second, obviously listening intently to something. Goddamn that Blondie. I waited for the explosion. It didn't come. A moment later I chanced a look up.

He was standing with his chin touching his chest, two fingers pinching his nose, his eyes squeezed shut. Bella was beside him, holding Nessie to her hip with one hand, rubbing his back with the other. "What, Edward? What's wrong?"

"Jacob," he practically growled my name, "thinks he has bested me into allowing our daughter to go down to La Push."

Wait a second. "What do you mean _thinks_? I _have_ figured out a way..."

"Jacob, I don't care what kind of_ loophole_ you may think you have found, she's _my_ daughter and I say..."

I decided to take a different approach. "She's Bella's daughter, too. Bells," I turned to her, "do you really mind Nessie going down to La Push?"

She looked torn, looking from my face to her husband's. "What's going on, Jake? What loophole?" She asked. Nessie jumped out of Bella's arms and I opened mine to catch her. She sat on my lap, turning so that her back was leaning against my chest.

"Well, Nessie told me yesterday that Edward had promised her to let her go anywhere she knew the language. So I taught her Quileute."

Bella laughed, but stopped when Edward gave her a look. "Oh, c'mon, Edward. You have to admit, he's got you there. He followed your rule and you can't go against it, now."

"Bella, this isn't a question of rules and loopholes, this is about our daughter's safety." She rolled her eyes. "Or have you completely forgotten about your friend, Emily?"

Now, the asshole had gone too far. I opened my mouth and could feel Seth even gearing up to say something, but Bella beat us to the punch. She looked pissed. "Don't you _dare_ bring Emily into this. Do you _know_ the guilt that Sam has to live with because of that? She's not some example you can bring up whenever you're being prejudiced against the wolves. Do you think she holds a grudge against Sam for it, do you think she avoids the rest of the wolves? No! She's like a second mother to Sam's pack. Aside from that, Sam was a new wolf when that happened and he _still_ doesn't have the control over phasing that Jake has always had."

"Which is why I still allow the _dog_ to see her, but there will be others down there, and they might not have the same control he has."

Her eyes were slits, now. "You know how I feel about you calling him that, Edward." Nessie put a hand on my face without turning around to replay what her mom had said. She didn't like when he called me that, either. Edward opened his mouth to say something, but Bella stopped him. "Look, I have let this thing go on long enough. I have never liked keeping Nessie from La Push, some of my greatest human memories happened on the Rez. She isn't a normal little girl, Edward, no one's going to be able to phase and catch her off guard. She's going, loophole or not, she's going."

Oh, shit! I hadn't expected Bella to defend us like that. I had forgotten how close she and Emily had become that spring when we were out chasing Victoria. Nessie turned to look at me with a big smile on her face. I was relieved. I didn't think she had ever seen her parents fight before, I wasn't sure if it would have upset her. She showed me the image she had showed me earlier, I was driving her to the Rez. I smiled and nodded down at her.

I decided to at least try and smooth things over. Beside me, Seth looked uncomfortable having just overheard their fight. "So, how _did_ it go at Charlie's?"

Bella sighed like she had before. "Okay, I guess. He didn't seem too upset by it. I think that has a lot to do with your mom, Seth. It's nice to see him so happy all the time. I would have felt a lot better, though, if I could have told him when we'd be coming back."

That reminded me of the fight I had had the night before with Leah. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Oh, that's right. How did it go with _your_ dad, yesterday. I'm surprised that Billy didn't call up Charlie last night and rat me out."

"It was fine. I didn't even have to tell him, really. I started to tell him and then he just guessed. He said he'd been preparing himself for the move since the Volturi came for all of us." I shrugged. "He's more worried about the pack than about himself."

Seth spoke up. "Aww, I think we'll manage without our fearless leader." I socked him on the arm. "I just hope Leah gets over it, soon. I'm not really looking for a promotion." I just shrugged. I didn't want to talk about it. I probably hadn't handled things as well as I could have, last night. I believed Seth, though, as much as Leah talked about leaving and not phasing, she was still waiting for her imprint.

Bella looked like she wanted to say something comforting, but she didn't know what. Even now that she was a virtually-indestructible newborn vampire, Leah still scared her. She just squeezed my shoulder and took our dirty plates, washing them with vampiric speed. "Thanks, Bells."

"I have a new rule," Edward spoke up for the first time since Bella had handed him his ass. I rolled my eyes when he glared at me. "More like an amendment to the language rule, which is, apparently, still in effect. Nessie will still be able visit anyplace she speaks the language. However, Jacob, if you wish to join her, you will also have to learn the language."

What?!? Seth was doing a horrible job of pretending his laughs were coughs. Bella looked shocked for a fraction of a second and then she smirked and shook her head. Goddammit. Nessie turned to look at me and looked confused that I looked so glum. She showed me an image of the Quileute book and a clock with it's hands racing. "Yeah, Nessie it's easy for you and your photographic memory. It takes everybody else _years _to learn languages." She showed me an image of her helping to teach me. Great. I was going to be tutored by a little girl.

Edward laughed. "That reminds me. Nessie, where's that Quileute book?" We shook our heads together. "What does that mean?"

"It _means_ that you're not going to learn Quileute. It's _our _thing." Nessie nodded at that.

He rolled his eyes at us. "I'm serious, Jacob. Where is it?"

"I _am_ serious, Edward. You're not learning it."

"You, Jacob, do not dictate what I can or cannot do."

I ignored him. "Nessie, do you want Edward to learn Quileute, too?" She shook her head. "Do you want to be a secret between the two of us?" She nodded, smiling. "I want it to be our secret, too, honey." He knew he was beaten. He wouldn't deny Bella or Nessie anything. With a low growl, he stormed out of the kitchen. Jesus, he acts like a little kid left out of a joke. Bella rolled her eyes and followed him out.

"Nessie, is your grandpa here or is he at the hospital?" She showed me the memory of him coming home when she was baking the cake with Esme. "And he's still here?" She nodded. "Okay. Can you find something to do with Seth for a while? I have to go talk to him." She nodded enthusiastically and shot a meaningful look at Seth. I wondered what that was all about. I set her down on the counter and kissed her forehead before walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs to find Carlisle.

For the second time in as many days I found myself knocking on Carlisle's study's door. "Come in, Jacob." He and Esme were looking at blueprints spread out on his desk.

"Hey, Esme. Hey, Carlisle. I know you wanted to talk to me but I can come back later."

Esme answered. "Oh, that's okay, Jacob. I was finished with him. You're saving him from the same hour-long discussion I just had with Alice about the square footage of everyone's closets."

"Yes, Jacob. Thank you for that. Please, sit down." He gave Esme a kiss after she rolled up the plans and walked her to the door.

She turned to face me. "Would you like me to make you dinner, Jacob? We still have a few hours before we go play."

"You don't have to, Esme."

"I need the practice for when you move in with us."

"Thanks, and you might want to make a meal for a family of eight. I think Seth's staying for the game, too." She laughed and left the room.

"So, Doc, how did it go with my old man, last night?"

He exhaled slowly. "Well, as I'm sure you know, the move will be very difficult on him. I know he's been preparing for it since you imprinted on Renesmee, but he thought he would have more time with you."

I nodded. "I guess I could see how I haven't been around much in the past few years. Especially with running away and all."

"He really does think of you as your own man. He thinks the responsibilities that came with becoming a wolf, inheriting your own pack, and imprinting on a child have matured you. He believes that you're under the impression that he doesn't improve of Nessie, but she's grown on him. Of course, he was saying this to her grandparents, so it may have been disingenuous to spare our feelings, although he was the one to bring it up, so I doubt it."

That surprised me. I guess I _did_ think that he had a problem with Nessie. Maybe the few times he had been around her at Charlie's had made more of an impression on him than I had thought. I hoped that bringing Nessie around the Rez would help with that, too. "That's good to hear, I guess. I wish he would have told _me _he felt that way, though. But I guess Black men aren't the most expressive with their feelings."

He looked taken aback. "That's odd. I've always found you to be extremely honest with your emotions. I don't think anyone tells you this enough, partially because everyone takes it for granted as part of imprinting, but you take very good care my granddaughter. I've always appreciated that and I'm glad that she will always feel loved, even if she's away from her family."

"Thanks, Carlisle."

"Your father never came out and said it, but I'm sure you sensed what I did, last night. He seemed almost sad about the relationship you share with Esme and, if I'm not being too presumptuous, the relationship you and I have."

"No. I got that, too. I've always really respected you, Doc. Even before I was comfortable with everyone, when I was still trying to save Bella from this life, I couldn't help but feel differently about you. It may not seem like a compliment, but ever since the newborn attack when you treated me, I couldn't help but see you as a man and not a vampire. The closer I get to the family, the more I really do see you as a father figure.

"I think my dad was a little put out because he _does _see me as a man, _not_ a teenager. When I ran away the summer before Edward and Bella's wedding, he just let me go. He told Charlie that he was overreacting by trying to find me. And then, after Nessie was born, I never started the school year. I wanted to see her all the time and then she was in danger from the Volturi, so I just didn't go. Billy didn't care, didn't say a word about it. I've thought about why that is. I mean, he never really got on my case or anything but he was even easier on me after I phased for the first time. I guess what you said about the added responsibilities makes sense. But I don't think that's all of it. In a strange way, I think it has more to do with the fact that I'm technically Chief of the tribe. No one tells the Chief what to do. Billy's very traditional about stuff like that. That's why I thought he'd have a much harder time with me moving. To him, I'm not just moving out of his house, not just leaving him, I'm leaving my people, my pack." I shrugged. "I guess I just don't think about it that way.

"I think the way I was interacting with Esme bugged him because he feels like he didn't do the greatest job of being _both _my parents after Mom died. He's probably happy that I have someone mothering me, but I think it just brought up issues from my mom's death. And then when you brought up studying and stuff, he probably felt guilty because he never tells me stuff like that. He probably didn't think I needed a dad-dad anymore until he saw you guys acting that way towards me last night. It just reminded me that I'm still a teenager, not some legendary Chief. I don't want to make it seem like he's a bad dad or anything. It's just...different with you and Esme."

"I'm glad you're telling me all of this, Jacob. This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. Esme and I have adopted most of our children when they were on their way out of adolescence, like you. Bella was a little different. She was the same age as Rosalie when she joined the family, but she was also a married woman and a mother. The other major difference is that they have all been newborn vampires. There were different issues to be dealt with. By the time their thirst was controlled and they were fully adapted to the idea of being a vampire, they had matured past their teenage years, even if their bodies had not. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

I thought about it. "Kinda. I'm going to be the first real teenager you adopted?"

"Yes, exactly. This is still very new to us. For example, schooling. We've had children in high school before, but never finishing their first time around and never without the advantage of having a photographic memory or the disadvantage of thirsting after their classmates. I expect you to focus on your studies. Something I'm guessing you haven't been doing?" I didn't meet his eye, I just shook my head.

He didn't respond, he just went on. "The other major thing Esme and I discussed with your father was the documents that Jasper is going to have drawn up for you. The driver's license that Bella made up for you six months ago does not have your real age on it, so we'll have to get you another one. But, more importantly, in order to sign you up for school, we'll have to make up fake adoption papers. Your father didn't take that well. Of course, the papers will be a forgery, and they will have absolutely no legal ramifications. I would never really take you away from your father like that. In the end, he understood. Still, you might want to talk to him about it."

"Yeah. I guess I should." That was going to be awkward as hell. I figure I should at least try. If he blew it off, I wouldn't push it.

"I also wanted to talk to you about your cover story. I see no reason for you to go by any other name, but I'm not sure what you'd like your history to be. You could be either my or Esme's nephew or just an adopted ward, it's up to you. Seeing as your father didn't appreciate the adoption papers, you might want to work out your story with him. I don't know if you'd be comfortable pretending to be an orphan. Again, your name and back story is completely up to you and we have time before we need to arrange for any paperwork to be drawn up."

It would be kinda weird to say my dad was dead. But wouldn't it just be worse to say that he couldn't handle me and sent me off to live with my rich aunt and uncle? "I'm definitely going to need to think about that."

He nodded. "Of course, your car will be shipped over with ours, so you'll have a means of getting to school everyday. Esme and I will also be giving you an allowance."

I shook my head. "No. I'll make my own money. I can work in a shop or something."

"Jacob--"

I cut him off. "I'm already imposing on you guys enough, you're not going to give me money. I'll work all this summer if I have to."

"Well, I certainly won't stop you from working this summer, but I must put my foot down about this. You will need to focus on your studies and you can't do that if you're working. That's not to say you won't be _earning_ your allowance. You will help Esme around the house, do your own laundry, clean your room, and all the other things normal teenagers do to earn their allowances. Besides, you'll need gas money and lunch money at the very least. We're the ones forcing you to live twenty miles from school, it's the least we could do."

"I don't know, Carlisle. I need to think about it."

"That's fair. I guess I have given you plenty to think about for today. We'll iron things out as we get closer to moving. You really should speak to your father, though. We gave him just as much to think about, yesterday."

"Thanks, Carlisle. For everything."

"My children never have to thank me." I just nodded and left the room.

When I went downstairs, Emmett was alone, watching TV. "Hey. Where are Nessie and Seth?"

"I think they went to Bella and Edward's with Alice."

"Yeah? What's that about?"

"I don't know. Alice probably wanted to dress her up in something else for her scrapbook. You should have seen her earlier when she was making that cake with Esme. She even put strategically placed chocolate frosting all over her, just to get pictures of it."

I laughed. That explained it. "Hey, Emmett? Can I talk to you about something?"

He turned to look at me, weary of what I was going to say. "I'm not going to keep any more secrets from Edward for you. He can hear you, anyway. They're up in his old room."

"Are you sure your brain is as good as the other vampires? I said I wanted to talk to you about something, not tell you a goddamn secret. What are we? Twelve-year-old girls at sleep-over?" I went to sit next to him on the couch, keeping a couple of seats in between us, the unspoken amount of space guys need when sitting next to other guys. "How do you deal with Carlisle giving you money all the time?"

"Carlisle's giving you money?" There was no judgment in his voice or even surprise, he was just curious.

"Yeah. He's calling it an allowance for when I move in with you guys, but it's weird, right?"

"I guess it weirded me out at first, too. I don't know. It's different for vampires, I guess. We don't really need money. I guess it might be kinda the same for you guys. Like, you don't really need _stuff_. All I really need is blood. I don't sleep, but I can be outside without suffering or anything. I just need a place to hide my sexy-ass body when it's sunny." I laughed in spite of myself. "You noticed then, huh? Not that I blame you." I laughed again.

"Anyway, the money and all the stuff is just kinda extra. And Rosalie's sure as fuck not going to live without all her shit and a nice to place to put all her shit. It took me a long time to get over the thirst thing in the beginning for me to even think about all the money and how we had everything we had. I guess Carlisle had given Rosalie money before I came around and then he gave us a shitload when we got married the first time. That kinda freaked me out and we were really good about spending it for a long time." I raised my eyebrows. How much did it take for these guys to consider it a shitload? I could only imagine. "And then Alice came around and doubled all our money in the first year by telling us which stocks to buy. Then we _really_ started having money. Now, I don't know. I guess I don't really think about it anymore. You shouldn't, either, man. It's no big deal. We just keep piling it up, different names in different accounts in different fucking island countries I didn't even know existed."

I could definitely see how he could see it that way. I don't know. Growing up in the shoe box that is my dad's house, saving enough to get parts for my car seemed like the biggest extravagance I would ever get. Who even knows how much Carlisle would consider to be an okay amount for an allowance. Probably not what most kids get, especially when you get a "shitload" as a wedding present.

"Thanks, man. I'm going to go find Nessie."

"No need," Alice called from across the river in the backyard. Seth was in wolf form and Nessie was riding his back as he jumped the river. She was giggling. I have to admit, as stupid as it sounds, I was jealous that she was riding another wolf. I took it, though, she looked happy. He dropped her off at the back steps and then went to phase back and put on some clothes.

"Hey, Nessie, you changed?" She nodded, jumped over the back of the couch and snuggled into my lap.

"Stand up, Jake." Alice was standing in front of me with a measuring tape around her neck.

"_Why_?" I didn't like where this was headed.

"Oh, just get up." I shook my head. "Nessie," she whined. She put her hand on my face and showed me standing up to be measured.

"No. What's this all about, anyway?"

"You have to get new clothes for the move." Alice said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And since you had to be a_ giant _I need your measurements, especially for pants. I'm definitely not going to be able to buy them off-the-rack."

"I'm sure everyone looks like a giant to you." She glared at me. "Besides, I've never had a problem finding sweats in my size, I just cut of the bottoms." She looked horrified and Seth and Emmett laughed.

"Just do it, man. Trust me. You'll just save yourself hours of arguing. Seriously, she'll just go get Jazz and you'll suddenly _love_ the idea of new pants."

She nodded. "He's right, you know. Plus, it's all a part of your cover story. You can't wear sweats and be adopted by a rich surgeon. If you're gonna live like a Cullen, you have to look like a Cullen."

I hated to admit it, but she was kinda right. It looked weird enough that I wore cut-offs without a shirt in the dead of winter in La Push where there were over a dozen other guys all wearing the same thing. I couldn't really pull that off in New Hampshire and fit in.

I put down on the couch, between Seth and I, and groaned as I stood up. Nessie put her hand on Seth's cheek and he nodded. They started playing rock, paper, scissors. I smiled. I love that I'm the one teaching her all those kid things. I frowned as I felt Alice's hand climb up my leg. "Jesus, Alice. Watch it, will ya?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself."

Emmett laughed. "I don't know, Jacob. First you notice my sexy-ass body, then you complain when a woman touches your leg. Got something to tell us? Is imprinting on Nessie just a clever cover story?"

Seth laughed. "How do you think I feel, Emmett? He sees me naked all the time." Emmett was roaring, slapping his thigh.

"Don't start with me, kid." I told Seth.

Emmett started in again. "Ooh, "kid?" Is that what you like to call the guys? You get off on that? We already know you're a cradle robber."

I growled and took a swing at him, which he easily dodged. "Jacob," Alice scolded. "Stand _still_."

Esme called out to us from the kitchen. "Emmett, leave Jacob alone." I groaned. Didn't she know that he was just going to tease me more for her help? "Alice, when you're done with that would you like to go grocery shopping with me in town?"

Before she could answer we heard Bella's voice, "Oh, Esme, I have a list of groceries I needed for some recipes that I wanted to try out." A few seconds later, she and Edward were walking hand-in-hand down the stairs. She walked up to Alice and gave her the list.

"I don't think I'm going, Bella." She said as she looked over the list, anyway. Then she looked up as if something had just hit her and a huge smile lit her face. She pointed a thumb at Bella and Edward while she looked at me, Nessie, and Seth. "Kitlayakwokwilkwolasstaxasalas!" We nearly fell off the couch laughing. Nessie was crying she was laughing so hard and even Esme's laugh was coming out from behind the kitchen's door. Bella and Emmett looked confused, but Edward, Edward looked pissed.

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_(Some Quileute characters were approximations)_

*****: How are you?

******: I'm good/well.

_Author's Note: _Thanks for hanging in there. I know it was lengthy investment. I hope you got your precious time's worth.


	2. Book One: Part Two

_Author's Note:_ I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post this installment. I had no idea it would be so long, 24,000 words and I couldn't work for a few days over the weekend. So, I hope to have the next installment up by next Wednesday. On the same embarrassing note, I have to apologize for the number of typos in the last one. I hope that isn't the case this time. On an even more embarrassing note, I stated in the last part that Rachel had come home "a year and a half ago." Since the last part was supposed to have taken place in early June, she would have only been in town for less than a year. My sincerest apologies. I felt like an idiot when I reread that. On a much, much happier note, thank you to all who reviewed. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I would like to assure you that these installments will become shorter, but I actually have no idea. Before I started writing, and even halfway through, I would have bet good money that this part would be much shorter than the last. I don't presume to know anymore how long the next one will be, but I hope you're into these lengthy updates. I know that there's an obvious solution, but I can't bring myself to put them up in parts, especially because I always have to go back to the first section after writing something completely contradictory in the last. So, stop reading this and get to it!

_Stephenie Meyer: _I hereby declare that I did not create nor do I own your beautiful characters. I do, however, hope my readers know who they are, or they will be completely confused when they read my work. Thank you, again, for them.

* * *

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_  
__**When I'm walking beside her,**_

_**People tell me I'm lucky.**_

_**Yes, I know I'm a lucky guy.**_

--The Beatles  
_Every Little Thing_

***

I had taken over Leah's shifts without complaint. I hadn't been surprised when she didn't show up for her next shift after our fight or when we were never phased at the same time. I gave her space. I figured that the added responsibilities I was putting on her were nothing compared to running a few back-to-back patrols. Sam had stopped asking after a week what Carlisle had had to say to my dad. I told him that I'd tell him when I told him and left it at that. We hadn't been on the best of terms since then. Not that we had been on good terms for a while. I don't think he had forgiven me for undermining his authority all those months ago. I know some of his pack still held it against me and I know they held joining me against the rest of my pack. Especially Quil and Embry, because they had joined me such a long time after the initial break-off.

It made me a little sad to think that there were wolves, that I had brothers, who I didn't even _know._ I had seen them around, the new ones. It was easy to pick them out of the crowd on the Rez, at first. They were the guys who looked uncomfortable in their new, hard bodies; graceful in spite of themselves. I had wondered in the beginning why their allegiance hadn't been mine when they first phased. I was, after all, the True Alpha. Nessie had looked up stuff on wolves one day. She had told me that wolves didn't fight over being Alpha. Instead of power plays, the would-be usurper just left to make his own pack. I guess that's what had happened. Sam remained Alpha of the original pack, which still was the true pack of La Push, and I had taken off to make my own. It didn't bother me, I didn't really _want_ the responsibility of taking care of new wolves, especially now that I was moving. But I did regret the near stranger status I had with some of my brethren.

The day before Nessie was going to come down to the Rez, three weeks after Bella had put her foot down about allowing visits, I had left the Cullens' early. Edward was being especially unpleasant to me and I didn't want to snap at him and put Nessie's visit in jeopardy. So, I made up a lie about having an early patrol and took off. No one was home when I got there. Rachel had left me a note:

_Jake-_

_-You probably won't be home before we get back. I should probably stop writing these notes. Anyway, I'm over at Paul's and Dad's over at the Clearwater's place._

_-Rachel_

Rachel was on Paul's side in this whole mess. I don't understand why they still held it against me. Would they really have rather_ killed_ Bella and Nessie? Was having to deal with the stress of the Volturi really worse than _destroying_ their brother's imprint? Most of Sam's pack was against Nessie as the object of my imprinting. They considered it to be unnatural and some sort of misplaced leftover feelings for Bella. Since that hadn't been inside my head, some were convinced that I hadn't even really imprinted. Assholes. I'm not sure what Rachel thought about Nessie, I think she was just upset that I had picked the vampires and Bella over _her_ Paul and his pack. I don't think any of the imprints consider the pack to be _Sam's_, it was their imprints' pack. Emily, of course, was right no matter which way she looked at it. From the note Rachel had left me, she was also upset about the amount of time I spent with Nessie and the Cullens. Oh well. Maybe I should make it a point to hang out here while I still had the chance. Maybe I'd go fishing with my dad this weekend, or something. I decided to go down to the Clearwater's and pick him up. I called Seth and gave him a heads up, making sure Leah wouldn't be there.

I was halfway up the hill when I saw Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. I wonder if he spends the night. Seth hasn't said anything about it and I can't imagine Leah being cool with that. Sue opened the door for me when I knocked and gave me a hug. "Hey, Jake. Long time, no see." I smiled and nodded and then followed her into the house. Because, really, what do you say when someone says that to you? Charlie was sitting on the couch and my dad was sitting in his chair on the other side of the armrest. A Mariners game was on and they each had a beer in their hand. They turned to me when I came in.

"Hey, son. Haven't seen you since breakfast. Busy day?"

"Not really. Nessie and I caught some frogs."

"Oh, yeah?" Charlie was interested. "Edward let her keep 'em?" I just shook my head. I didn't tell them that the frogs freaked out as soon as we got to the house and we had to let them go. "Figures." He still didn't think much of his son-in-law. " Probably for the best, though, whenever Bella gets around animals, they end up dying." Seth and I couldn't suppress our laughs. Sue and Billy shot us a look. Charlie hadn't thought anything of it, he just thought we were laughing at Bella's track record with pets.

I stayed for a while, just catching up. They ate and I told Sue I had eaten at the Cullens'. She looked surprised, but didn't say anything. Seth and I were having our own conversation on one end of the dinner table. "So, what's going to happen to your car when you move?"

"Carlisle's gonna ship it with their other ones. Can you imagine the guy that sees my car next to all of theirs? They're gonna think it's a joke or something. They'll probably just think it's Carlisle's first car that he can't bear to part with." We laughed. Then all hell broke loose. I felt Charlie's eyes on me, so I looked over to him.

He was just staring at me. Billy and Sue's conversation trailed off when they saw him. It took him a while to speak. "You're going with them?"

Huh? "Yeah. Didn't Bella and Edward tell you that?"

I saw Sue looking back and forth between us. Charlie looked at her. "You knew about this?" Wait a second. Why was Charlie pissed off? She just nodded. He turned back to me. "What the hell is all this about, Jacob?"

I looked around the table, confused. Trying to ask everyone with my eyes why he was so upset. Seth shrugged slightly, he looked as confused as I did. "What do you mean, Charlie?"

"I mean, why the hell are you moving across the country with my daughter, her family, and her in-laws? And why the hell," he looked around the table, " am I the only one who thinks anything of it?" He looked at my dad. "Billy, you're letting your teenage son move across the country with the Cullens?"

"He's a grown man, Charlie. He does what he wants."

"He's not a grown man, Billy. He's a _teenager_. He still has to finish school and--"

"Is that what you're upset about? He'll be finishing school in New Hampshire."

"But _why_, Billy? _Why_ is he finishing high school across the country? _Why _is he moving at all? What is this all about? There's something more to this, I know there is."

Shit! I didn't know what to say. I had never talked to Bella and Edward about telling Charlie that I had imprinted on Nessie. What was I supposed to say? Seth's head whipped towards the back door before whipping back to me. "I know," I said under my breath for his supernatural ears only. "I smell her, too." Leah was back. Goddammit. I had planned on leaving before she came home. I was surprised she kept the course she was on, she could smell me just as much as I could smell her. Oh well, I couldn't think about her right now, right now I just had to focus and tell Charlie something that made some sort of sense. I wasn't speaking, so Charlie just kept on ranting.

"I mean, you're always around them. Every time I come down to visit Billy, you're always with the Cullens. Every time I stop by at the Cullens, you're there. They all treat you like you're part of the family. And you used to _hate _Edward, I was convinced that one day you two would get into it. Now, everything's fine between you two? Then there's Nessie. I mean, I don't think I've ever _seen_ that little girl without you. And she's just as attached to you as it seems you are to her. She starts every story with, 'Jacob and I...' or ' When I was with Jacob...' it doesn't make any sense." And despite the situation I was in, despite the fact that shit was coming at me from two different directions, hearing that Nessie couldn't tell a story that I wasn't in made my fucking day. Leah walked in then and I didn't look up, my eyes were still glued to Charlie's. He didn't seem to notice, he was still ranting, his volume increasing with each sentence. "It's like you're best friends with that little girl. And Bella seems fine with it, better than fine with it. I don't know if it's just guilt over picking Edward or what. And then there's that. The fact that you were in love with my daughter for over a year and then one day, overnight, there's nothing there and you guys are just best friends. And then you start talking about my kid granddaughter the same way you used to talk about Bella, better even. 'She's the most wonderful person in the world,' 'more special than all of us put together,' right? So, I'll ask you again. What's this _hell_ is this all about?"

Leah took my silence as an opportunity to dig it in a little deeper. "Yeah, Jake. You're sure on about that kid. What's up with that?"

I ignored her. My brain still hadn't come up with a fantastic explanation for all of it. Charlie was too observant for his own good. So, I just said the one thing I knew I could get away with saying. "Need to know, Charlie. Okay? Can you just leave it at that?"

His face turned red. I had never seen him this upset. "No, Jacob, I don't think I can. This is not 'need to know' this has something to do with my granddaughter and I want to know what it is."

Seth sneaked off from the table, taking the phone from the kitchen outside. Goddamn I hope he was calling who I think he was calling.

I looked at Billy, he was sipping on his beer. He looked...amused? Shit. I looked at Sue, begging her with my eyes. "Honey, maybe you should calm down and we'll--" She started, but Charlie cut her off with a look before looking back at me, expectantly.

Leah was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the door frame, laughing. Goddamn, she was pissing me off. Sue tried again. First, she scolded her daughter. "Leah, please. You're not helping the situation." She didn't hear her daughter's reply under her breath that that was the point. To Charlie she said, "Maybe this is something you should talk to Bella about."

He shook his head and pointed a finger at me. "He knows just as much as she does about all this, maybe more, and he's going to be the one who explains it all to me."

I swallowed hard. How the hell was I supposed to explain it without explaining imprinting? _Could_ I explain imprinting to him? _Should _I? Man, I wish I could talk to Edward right now. He was always good at lying.

"I'm waiting," Charlie growled at me. Leah laughed again.

Seth came back in and sat down again at the table, whispering to me. "I called Bella, she's on her way. I called Sam, too, he knows she's coming." Thank God. Now all I had to do was stall long enough for them to get here. Billy finished off his beer, sighing in satisfaction. The conversation was having absolutely no affect on him.

"Look, Charlie, I'm not lying to you when I say that this is one of those 'need to know' things. I'm really not. Ask Sue." I shouldn't have said that. Sue's eyes narrowed on me.

Charlie's head whipped around to face her. "_You_ know what all this is about?" She nodded. "Billy?" He turned to my dad. "You know, _too_?" Billy nodded. He erupted. "Does _everybody _know about this? Am I the only one left out of this secret involving _my _granddaughter?" There was a knock on the door. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Charlie turned purple. "Is that who I think it is? Is that who you were calling, Seth?"

"Hey," Sue warned Charlie as she walked towards the door. "Leave him be, Charlie. He was just helping his Al—I mean, Jake." The door opened to Bella and Edward, wet from the rain that must have just started. They took in the scene quickly, greeting Sue before coming in.

Bella went straight to Charlie. "Hey, dad." Her voice was quiet, testing the waters.

He just shook his head. "You shouldn't have made the trip, Bella. I'm going to hear the explanation from him." He pointed at me.

Edward took a step closer to the table. "What is it you're upset about, Charlie?" That made me want to laugh, he knew _exactly_ what Charlie was thinking, _exactly_ what was pissing him off. "We didn't hear anything but that you were upset and it had something to do with Bella and Renesmee." That got me thinking. Did Nessie know something was wrong? I had told her I was doing patrols. "No, she was asleep already when we left." He said it fast and in a whisper. Leah rolled her eyes. It was obvious what I was asking. She really didn't understand imprinting, didn't understand that it didn't matter what kind of mess I might be in, her peace of mind mattered more.

Charlie looked as though he was debating whether or not to even tell them. He probably thought that it would give them the opportunity to answer the question for me. For whatever reason he wanted to hear this from me. I was more nervous about telling him than I had been about telling Bella. Thankfully, I had never had to tell Edward, he had heard it in my thoughts. I had a newfound respect for Paul. Other wolves could allow a girl's parents to find out naturally. They could date for a while before springing the whole 'mine forever' thing on them. But Paul had to come right out and tell my dad that he belonged to his daughter, that they would eventually get married and have kids, only hours after he had found out himself. Then, Billy had to watch his daughter fall instantly in love with Paul. _Paul._ At least Charlie would have the benefit of it happening over time, but was that really so much better when you _knew_ it was going to happen? Did Edward feel like there was this giant clock counting down to the day that Nessie would look at me and it would all be different? I did, sometimes. Sometimes when I was alone with her it felt like we were in an empty room, just me, Nessie and the clock. I couldn't figure out if I wanted that clock to slow down or speed up. It didn't matter. I didn't have a choice. That clock just kept running at the same speed and none of us had any idea when the hell it was going to go off.

Charlie took a deep breath. "I want to know why Jacob's moving with your family across the country. I want to know what this has to do with Nessie, because everyone's all but confirmed that it has _everything_ to do with her. Is it because of what _he_ is or because of what _she_ is? I want to know if she's why he told me about what he is in the first place. He said it was to keep Bella close by, but was it to keep Nessie close, too? I'm not an idiot, I know something isn't right with the way they are with each other. I don't want to know _everything_, but if this is something that's _that_ important and it's about Nessie, I want to know."

Bella was looking at Edward with such a look of concentration on her face that she had to be removing her shield for him. No one spoke for a few moments. I was waiting. I wasn't even trying to think of anything to say. This was Edward and Bella's show, now. I'm the mouthpiece, tell me what to say. Sue had taken Charlie's hand and was trying to soothe him by stroking the back of it. Seth was looking back and forth between Bella and Edward. He obviously knew what they were doing, but it wasn't like he could hear them, so he just looked like an idiot. Leah was bored and she sat down in one of the empty seats at the table. The conversation had become calm since Bella and Edward had shown up and she couldn't feed off the tension that had been emanating from me since Charlie had erupted.

Billy was bored, too. He let out a sigh. "You should just tell him, Jake." Traitor.

I didn't say anything. Edward would figure out something. He could take some small random thought in Charlie's head and elaborate on it, creating a perfect red herring. I had faith in his bullshiting abilities. "You should," Edward said. He didn't even whisper it.

What? "Everything?" My voice came out as a squeak. He nodded. "About Nessie, too?" He thought for a moment. "Not what she is, but about her growth, yes." Her growth? Why? Was he just trying to make it harder on me?

"He doesn't need to know when it'll happen." I tried to reason with him.

"Yes, but when it will _happen_ will not be when you _act _on it."

Billy chuckled. "Tough break, kid." He leaned back in his chair and put linked fingers behind his head. Amusement was back on his face.

Across the table, Leah was laughing. She was probably remembering our conversation from a few weeks ago. Edward's eyes went to Leah and I knew I was right. "You want her to move in with you when she's _eight_?" _That_ he whispered, well, more like hissed. Bella's head whipped around towards me and her eyes narrowed.

"That's _not_ what I had meant. You guys, we haven't had this conversation, yet. Can't we talk about it late--."

He cut me off with a hand. "There's really nothing to discuss, Jacob."

"There sure as hell is," Charlie said, bringing us back to the reality of the dinner table. "I believe everyone is in agreement, Jacob. Explain."

I rubbed the back of my head, unsure where to begin. To be honest, what Edward had said about not acting on it was still bouncing around in my head. I didn't know how fast I wanted that clock to go off, but when it did, I sure as hell wasn't going to just sit there and ignore it. Had a wolf ever tried to _not_ be with his imprint like that? I know Emily had resisted Sam at first, but I doubt Nessie would do that to me when the time came. Oh, God, what if she did? What if she only ever saw me as a best friend? At least Bella _had_ seen me as more than that, she didn't act on it except the once, but at least I knew the attraction was there. What if Nessie found someone else? What if I had to watch her marry someone else? Someone more like her? Nahuel or some other vampire? What if I had to watch her stomach get big with someone else's baby? I would _have_ to be there for her. I would _have_ to watch it all. I was _hers_ if she wanted me as a best friend for the rest of her life, I would _have_ to--.

"Jacob..." Edward snapped me out of my horrible thoughts. He looked...sad for me? Bella was looking at me with worry etched in her stone face. What did_ my_ face look like? Did I look like I was in as much pain as my thoughts had made me feel?

"Jesus, Jacob," Charlie asked, "is it as bad as that?"

Mutely, I shook my head. I had to refocus. Start at the beginning, Jacob. Just like you told Bella when you first phased. "Well, Charlie. Now, remember, I told you it's 'need to know' stuff, okay?" He nodded, but looked unsure about it. "Well, to answer one of your questions, it has to do with werewolves." He flinched, but didn't say anything. "I guess the easiest way to explain it is with an example..." Shit! I had explained imprinting using Sam and Emily as an example when I had told Bella. I couldn't do that with Leah sitting across from me. Regardless of all the shit that was going on with us now, and despite how much pleasure she was taking in my pain, I couldn't, I _wouldn't_ do that to her. "Um..." I tried to find another example that Charlie would know. "Well, do you remember when Rachel came home last summer from school?" Leah let out a breath. I took that as a thank you. "Well, Paul ran into her on the beach a couple of days later and he...he imprinted on her." I let out a sigh.

He took what I said in and then his face regrouped back in a confused look. "Imprinted on her? What does that mean?"

How do you explain it? I looked to Edward for help, he just shook his head. I knew that I was beating around the bush with all this. I was just hoping he'd get it without having to just come out and say it.

"Just explain it, Jake. It's not a bad thing." That was Seth, the eternal optimist. Leah shot him a dirty look that he ignored. "Really, Jake. You shouldn't be embarrassed or whatever. You know how pure it is, why are you acting like you're ashamed? Shout it from the rooftops, man!" A smile broke across my mouth and I let out a nervous chuckle. I couldn't help it, the kid made me laugh. Sue was giving him a proud look that only a mother could give their child. He was right, though. I had to give him that.

I decided to start over. "Charlie, from the day your granddaughter was born I have loved her more than anything in the world, more than life itself. That's why I'm moving...to be with her. I can't be without her and it would be just as hard for her to be without me. That's why I told you about me in September after she was born. They were talking about leaving and I couldn't give her up. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go with them, so I bought myself some time.

"The day she was born, I imprinted on her. And from then on, for the rest of eternity, I will belong to her. Whatever makes _her_ happy will make _me_ happy. Whatever _she_ wants is what _I_ will want. Whatever she _needs_ me to be is exactly what I _will _be. Right now, I'm her playmate. Someone who will help her break the rules and teach all the normal childhood things you learn from other kids. Like today when we caught frogs. Later, when she'll need someone to confide in, I'll be her best friend. Then, one day, she'll want something more from me. There'll come a day when I'll make her my wife and the mother of my children." Edward growled at the last part, but I ignored him. "I _love_ her, Charlie. I'll love her _forever_. I'm her _soul mate_."

He was stone faced throughout my little speech. Sue was tearing up a little and Bella looked like she would be, too, if she could. Edward was expressionless and Leah was scowling. Seth was grinning like an idiot. It was funny, but having said all that, I suddenly found my thoughts from earlier ridiculous. I was _her _soul mate. I was _hers_. How had I forgotten that? I felt euphoric. I found myself grinning just as stupidly as Seth was. We were grinning at each other. I suddenly wished she were here, just so I could hold her and never let go. "Thanks, man."

Seth just nodded. "I've seen it, I know how great it is, you weren't doing it justice."

"_Great?_" Charlie's squeaky outcry took the grins off of our faces. "You think this is _great?_ The _werewolf_ who was in love with my daughter for a year just told me that one day he wants to marry my _nine-month-old_ granddaughter and knock her up, probably hoping to make _more_ werewolves, and that's _great?_ That's just supposed to make my day? You," he pointed at Edward, "you're her father. Put an end to this now. How could you let him_ follow_ her? This is ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! And, you," he pointed at Billy, "Paul's trying to pull this crap over on Rachel? Stop it _now_, before it goes too far. This is insanity! Utter insanity!" He was out of his seat now, pacing the room. "Am I the only one who thinks this is complete nonsense?"

"Nope," Leah spoke up. Everyone but Charlie turned to glare at her. She just smiled. She was enjoying herself again.

"Dad, you need to calm down. Jake isn't lying about this. Paul isn't lying. It's real, Dad. Just like the wolves. It's _magical_, Dad, just like they are."

He rolled his eyes and didn't stop pacing. "Please, Bella. _Magical?_ That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I bet he told you the same thing when he was trying to woo you. Soul mates? Please."

"No, he didn't, Dad. It's not something you can fake, or even will. I trust him completely. I trust him with Renesmee. He won't hurt her, he _can't_."

"And what were you going on about with her age, earlier? Is there _more_ to her growth, because I don't think I could take it if it goes any faster than it already is. I don't bring it up, because I don't want to know, but it scares the_ crap _out of me. Are you telling me that all this, him marrying her and everything, could happen _soon_?"

"If he has his way," Leah said, grinning. "These boys don't wait very long to claim their territory." Billy glared at her. "Hey, sorry if I'm bursting your bubble, Billy. Just be happy you didn't have to see the replay like I did. At least all the wolves in my mind now are into little girls." Billy was still glaring at her, she ignored him.

"What does that mean, anyway? You guys keep speaking in riddles. They're in your mind how?"

"It's a wolf thing," Leah said, bitterly. "We can read each other's minds, when we're wolves."

Seth tried to help. "That's how I know he's telling the truth, Charlie. I've seen it in Jake's mind. He loves Renesmee more than anything. It's not romantic at all. He sees her as a kid, but like she's the most perfect little girl that's every existed. Is there anything wrong with _that_?"

"And when she grows up? What then?" Charlie had started to calm down, but just thinking of me with his future-adult granddaughter, just upset him all over again. Seth just shrugged and Charlie went back to pacing.

"Charlie," I started, but he turned and gave me a look that made me shut up. I had never seen Charlie look at me like that. Jesus, I had kissed his daughter, breaking her hand, and he had laughed. What happened to the Charlie that loved me? Oh, that's right, I was going to have sex with his granddaughter one day.

Edward growled at me, again. I inwardly shrugged. He wasn't the scariest guy in Nessie's life right now. I could only deal with one overprotective family member at a time.

Billy tried this time. "Charlie, do you think I would give up Rachel if I didn't think it was real? It's in our legends, it's in our blood. This is how they find the girl they're supposed to be with." I noticed that he had left out all the breeding implications that he thought imprinting entailed. Charlie just scoffed, obviously believing Billy had been taken in just as much as everyone else.

This was never going to end and there was no way Charlie was ever going to get over this. I had ruined my entire relationship with Charlie, the man I had known my whole life, the closest thing to an uncle I had ever had. Worse, I may have ruined Renesmee's relationship with her grandfather. How could I ever fix this?

Edward came up and put a hand on my shoulder. "Charlie, the world we live in, the world that Renesmee was born into, is supernatural. Imprinting is just as real as Jacob, the boy you've known since birth, changing into a giant wolf. Now, like you, I have never liked the fact that everyone seems to think her fate has been sealed up so completely before she has been given a chance to live, either. Trust me when I say that I will make sure that she has a choice in all of this." Charlie stopped pacing. Billy frowned. "She _is_ aging faster now than she will be in just a few months and her accelerated growth _will_ cause her to be fully grown in about six years. However, I will do everything short of locking her in a windowless tower before I allow their relationship to progress to that point at such a young age. I do trust, Jacob, though. He means it when he says that he only wants what's best for her. He's sincere in his love for my daughter and, if he _is_ who she chooses, I don't think that she could end up with someone who loves her in a purer way than he does. Billy and I are truly lucky that our daughters have the suitors they do, ones who love them more than they love themselves. I hope you respect our decision to trust them with our little girls." Charlie seemed entranced by Edward's words and for a second I wondered if he was hypnotizing him or using some sort of vampire mind trick on him. Whatever the reason, I heard Charlie's heart rate decrease and he nodded at Edward before taking his seat again. He looked exhausted.

The tension in the room all but dissipated and I thought back on what Edward had just said. It had to be the nicest thing he had ever said to me, aside from the time we all thought we were going to die. The talk of her age upset me a little, but I couldn't even imagine thinking of her that way except in the abstract, so I wasn't too worried about it. And if I hadn't felt only a few minutes ago a complete reassurance in the fact that Renesmee could never feel about anyone the way she felt about me, I would have been seriously pissed off about all the choice talk.

Bella and Edward decided to leave after that and I followed them out. It was still raining, so I only went as far as the porch. "Well, that was interesting." They just nodded, obviously still dazed like the rest of us by what had just happened. "Why didn't you guys tell him I was going with you?"

Bella looked up at me but her eyes were miles elsewhere. "I don't know, Jake. I guess we didn't even think of telling him at the time. I mean, I guess I thought it was obvious you'd be moving with us. I'm so sorry."

"No, Bells. I didn't mean it like that, I was just wondering. It's just that we never talked about telling Charlie I had imprinted on Nessie. I didn't know what to do. I didn't even ask Seth to call you. I was still trying to use our 'need to know' line, but he wasn't having it. Thanks, Edward. What you said in there helped. It probably would have eventually come out, but I don't think any of us would have been able to calm him down in the end. And, you know, thanks for what you said about me." He raised his eyebrows. Are you really going to ruin this nice moment?

He smiled. "No. You're a good kid, Jacob. I'm glad you're in my daughter's life."

Bella playfully hit his arm. "Hey, he's only a year and a half younger than me."

"Yes, love, but he was the one out catching frogs today, wasn't he?" I rolled my eyes and she laughed.

"Whatever, old man. How does it feel to know that in a few years your daughter and son-in-law will look five years older than you guys, for all eternity?"

"I don't know, Jacob, how does it feel to know that we can have a windowless tower built in less than a day?"

Bella laughed as they started walking hand-in-hand back to the Volvo. It was funny to see her strolling in the rain, I remember when she used to hate it.

"Hey, we still on for tomorrow?" She nodded before getting in the side door he held open for her. "I'll run to your place in the morning and then you can drive me back." He had already shut her door but she could hear me perfectly, just as perfectly as I could hear her when she said, "How about I let you drive the Ferrari?" My mouth dropped open and she laughed. Edward did the fastest reverse 180 I had ever seen, and they were gone. I shook my head. Cocky asshole. I hope he hydroplanes on the way home and his precious Volvo's totaled.

I was about to go inside when Leah met me in the doorway. "We need to talk."

I nodded. "I know. You want to do this with me in your head?"

She shrugged. "Might as well. We'll be able to skip the small talk." We walked to the woods and I turned around as we stripped and phased.

_Look, Leah. I'm sorry about everything. I don't want to put all this on you. I feel really shitty about it, actually. I think it might be okay, though, you know? I mean, when I ran away, I was in northern Canada, that's gotta be nearly as far as New Hampshire, and I could still hear you guys. I mean, I obviously won't be able to do my patrols, but I could deal with Sam and even keep you guys company when _you're_ doing patrols. Just to catch up, you know? I have to shift, anyway. I'm gonna talk to Sam tomorrow about everything and I'm going to tell him that his guys are going to need to take over my shifts, because it's not fair for you guys to have to do it when he's got so many guys he's running three at a time. And--_

_It's cool, Jake. I get it. I'm not happy about it, but I get it. The fact is, I'm forced into this whole thing until I can keep myself out of it. I mean, it took all my energy to wait until you were done with your shift before I released my anger and phased a couple of weeks ago. There's no way I'm controlling this for a while, so I'm stuck with it. That's not _your_ fault. It just pisses me off that you have such great control over it and you're not even _thinking_ about giving it up. I mean, you're gonna phase just for the hell of it just to stay young. Anyway, whatever. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sure as hell not going to be demoted, so I'm going to stay your Second while you're gone._

_Thanks, Leah. I don't want anyone else as my Second. I don't _trust _anyone else with it._

_Yeah, yeah. Just know that if you hadn't just had an hour of hell in there, this would have been a lot harder than it was._

_Thanks. _I lay down on the forest floor, resting my head on my paws. _I had never seen Charlie that mad before._

Leah lay down next to me, facing the same direction I was. _Well you _are_ planning on having sex with his granddaughter in the not too distant future._

_Yeah. Thanks for thinking about _that_, by the way. Guess Edward doesn't think Nessie will be up for making her own decisions for a while. Did you hear him threaten me with the 24 hour tower before he left? _

She laughed, but it sounded like a snort. _Yeah. I don't even think he's kidding about that shit._

_I don't, either. The look on Billy's face, though, when you told him Paul had had sex with my sister was priceless. I mean, _I_ don't even like thinking about them going at it. Thankfully, I never had to see the replays. He was always pretty good with his thoughts when I was phased. But making Billy think about it like that. Man, I don't think he's gonna leave them alone in the house for a while!_

Seth showed up and we looked away as he undressed. He phased and lay facing us. _Oh, man, Jake. I think you're lucky that my mom doesn't like Charlie bringing his gun into the house! It was cool Edward sticking up for you, though._

_Took him long enough. I _was_ enjoying watching you squirm, though._

_You really were, weren't you, Leah? Trust me, he waited until I was at my lowest to step in. I have to admit, though, under any other circumstances I might have laughed a couple of times at stuff you said._

_That Bella's too much, though. She really thinks we're _magical_? What kind of fucked up fairy tales did _she _read as a kid? Vampires are princes and werewolves are fairies?_

I laughed and it sounded like hoarse barks. _That's hilarious. She once told me that Edward thought imprinting was like the magic in _A Midsummer's Night Dream.

_Shakespeare? They actually talk about Shakespeare in normal conversation? I swear I like those two less and less the more I get to know 'em._

_I would shut up if I were you, Leah. Bella could be our step-sister one day and I don't think there'd even be a contest for who would be my favorite sister. _Leah snapped at her brother's snout. He didn't move an inch.

_Would you _really_ like that, Seth? Because then you'd have a crush on our step-sister's husband. _He just stuck out his long wolf tongue and he looked so stupid that I snorted.

We lay there for a long time. Each thinking about different things, occasionally starting new conversations because of something in another's thoughts. After about an hour, Seth fell asleep.

_Hey, Leah? Can I ask you something?_ She agreed and I replayed the conversation I had had with Seth the day after our fight. _Are you going to wait until you imprint? He's right when he says it'll help you get over Sam._

_I don't know. I told you a long time ago that I don't think I can have kids, so if Billy and Sam are right, I don't think I ever will._

I _don't think they're right._

_Okay, Jake._

_I'm serious, Leah. I don't think they're right. Not that I don't think that a werewolf-vampire hybrid would be stronger than a regular wolf, I just don't think that's all it's about. I don't know. Maybe I'll know better when Nessie's older._

_I guess maybe it _could _happen to me, I'm not really counting on it, though. I can't stop phasing, so I'll have a while until I actually have to make a _choice_ to wait or not._ She paused. _Seth really wants it, huh?_

_Seems like._

_I hope he finds her. There's no justice in this world if Paul can find his soul mate and my little brother can't._

_He will. You will, too. We all find them. That's the point._

***

I parked Bella's Ferrari on the side of the dirt road in front of Emily's house the next morning. I turned off the ignition and turned to Bella who had Nessie sitting on her lap in the passenger seat. "Surprise." She looked at the house confused. "You don't remember?"

She was staring at the flowers in the window planters when it came back to her. "Emily?" I nodded. "It's getting harder and harder to remember those blurry human memories." Nessie put a hand to her mom's face, her eyebrows furrowed. "Emily," Bella explained to her, "is a friend of ours. She's engaged to Sam." Nessie's hand went up again and Bella nodded. "Yeah, he's a werewolf, too."

I had already opened my door and was struggling to get out of the car. They definitely don't design these sports cars around guys who are over six feet, let alone a six-ten werewolf. The girls were giggling at me when I resorted to crawling out of Bella's _after_ car. I met them in front of the masterpiece of a engine, brushing off dirt and loose leaves from my clothes. Bella looked nervous. "Don't worry, I called Sam, he knows we're coming." I took Bella's hand when Nessie jumped to sit on my shoulder, and we walked to Emily's front door.

Sam answered it for her. "Jacob, Bella." He nodded at each of us. Bella still looked nervous, but there was also something else in her eyes...hostility. I felt partially responsible. If I hadn't made all those assumptions about Sam, Jared, and Paul before I had joined them, she might have gotten off on a better foot with Sam than she had. It wasn't all my fault, though. No, Sam had sealed his fate the day he decided to kill Nessie. Not even Sam's stand with us against the Volturi had completely softened Bella's feelings towards him. "And, you," he smiled up at the girl whose legs were dangling on either side of my head, "must be Renesmee."

"Yes." Her voice was soft, but crisp. "Are you Sam, the other Alpha, like my Jacob?"

He smiled and nodded. His face took on its usual blank, calm expression when he looked to my face and then Bella's. "Come in."

Sam closed the door behind us. Emily came out of the hallway leading to the back rooms, they stared at each other as she went to stand next to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her smooth cheek. Her eyes closed slightly, but she made no other show of noting his affection. She took the three of us in, a smile on her face. "Jacob Black! Didn't know you still lived around here, anymore." I tried not to flinch and give myself away before I had my talk with Sam. I opened my mouth but she cut me off. "I'll get to you in a sec. First..." She turned deliberately so that she was facing Bella and opened her arms. "Vampire girl." Sam noticeably tightened his grip on her and a look of panic was making its way on to his stoic face. She looked confused at Sam's reaction. "Oh. Right. Can you not..." She didn't really know how to finish her own sentence.

Bella's face, on the other hand, lit up. "Of course I can..." She hugged Emily gently and I could tell she was trying to get away from Sam's too-close scent and Emily's too-tempting blood when she pushed away quickly. "...Wolf girl." They beamed at each other. Bella was obviously relieved at the warmth of their reunion. Nessie giggled at their nicknames for each other and Emily's eyes caught hers. They smiled at each other.

I took her off my shoulder and holding her around her middle, pressed her to my chest. My other arm bent over my stomach and she sat on my forearm. "Emily, this is Renesmee. We call her Nessie, though."

"_You_ call her Nessie," Bella corrected.

"And Carlisle and Esme and Alice and--"

Nessie cut me off. "Hello, Emily."

Her perfect speech and overt intelligence surprised Emily, Sam had experienced it before when she had spoken to Aro. Her expression immediately turned to one of amazement. "Hello, Nessie. You're a special little girl, aren't you?" Nessie just shrugged. "Can I give you a hug?" She nodded excitedly and threw herself at the unprepared human, nearly knocking the breath out of Emily as she went about wrapping herself around her new friend's frail body. Emily had to take a few steps back from the force of her weight and Bella and I started to scold her, but Emily waved us off. Sam was upset at first but couldn't fight with the happiness in Emily's face or the charm in Nessie's. Both he and Emily laughed when Nessie looked up at them apologetically. She was beginning to struggle with Nessie's weight and asked if she would mind Sam holding her. She launched herself at Sam before she gave a response. Sam looked taken aback, his fast reflexes taking the initiative to grab her before he even processed what was happening. He kept his arm around Emily's waist as he held Nessie to his side, looking bewildered at the enthusiastically trusting child.

"May I show you something, Emily?"

"Of course, Nessie." She looked surprised when Nessie leaned over Sam's body and touched her face. Bella stiffened next to me and Sam glanced anxiously over Nessie's head at her when he sense her tension. Then he looked at me to take in my demeanor. I was perfectly calm, amused actually. I loved seeing Nessie use her power on someone for the first time. Even if it freaked them out, they couldn't help but be even crazier about her in the end. Sam relaxed a little when he took in my face, but not completely.

Emily made a small gasp, but it was one of awe so Sam didn't do anything but tighten his already inescapable grip on her waist. Nessie slowly pulled her hand away as Emily's now-wide eyes stared into hers. "He's _your_ Sam, isn't he? He's _my _Jacob." She pointed at me. We smiled at each other.

"H-how? Wh-what?" I laughed. Sam glared at me but he turned to see Emily glowing, her warped smile wrapping as far across her face as it could. She laughed, an exuberant, giddy laugh. "Yes, Nessie. He's _my_ Sam."

"What did she show you?" Bella couldn't help herself. I have to admit, I was curious, too. Sam was just too enthralled in Emily's good mood to take his eyes off of hers, to care about what had put the light in them.

"Wait, can you show Sam, first?" Nessie grinned and touched Sam's face. His eyes widened but didn't stray from Emily's. I had never seen Sam grin like an idiot before. Nessie jumped out of his arms and landed in mine, a very satisfied look on her face. Sam and Emily were now pressing themselves to each other, tears welled up in her eyes and they kissed, slowly and passionately.

I cleared my throat, expecting a cold stare from Sam. They broke apart, still holding each other tightly. "Was that really what you were feeling?" Sam asked Emily. She just nodded, new tears forming in her eyes. Sam looked over at Nessie, still overwhelmed by his own emotions. "You really are special, aren't you?" She buried her face in my neck and I could feel the heat in her face exceed the heat in my neck. He looked back and forth between Bella and I, his expression became filled with amusement as we were both annoyingly left out of the loop. "She showed us _us_. She showed us my face when Emily came into the room and Emily's face when I kissed her--" They were both clinging to each other, half-bent into each other, giggling happily. "Then she showed us a memory of hers from when she was younger." They were catching their breath now, just staring into each other's eyes. "The looks on our faces reminded her of her and Jake."

I hugged her little body to mine and turned my head to kiss her on her cheek. I felt her blush again as she burrowed herself deeper into my neck. "I love you, Nessie, honey," I whispered.

After Nessie had so thoroughly buttered Sam up, I was no longer anxious about telling him I was moving. We all sat around the kitchen table, Sam sitting as far from Bella as he could. Bella and Emily were catching up on the wolves and Nessie was sharing some of her memories with Emily.

"So, what did Carlisle need to talk to your dad about, Jake?"

Right down to it. That's Sam, all business. "The Cullens have been in Forks too long. They're moving--"

"Can't say I'll be sorry." The girls shot him a look, temporarily pausing their own conversation, and he began to backtrack. "I just mean that there'll be fewer new wolves now, less need for patrolling." I chuckled to myself at the similarity between his and Leah's thoughts. "I did't mean we'll be celebrating or anything."

"Yeah, right. I remember the bonfire last time they left." Bella said it fast and under her breath. Emily didn't hear it, Nessie looked confused. She didn't know there had been a last time. She put a hand to her mother's face, probably repeating the scene back to her. "I'll explain later," she promised, though I knew she probably wouldn't. I wonder when Bella and Edward would ever drop _that_ bombshell on her. She saw her parents, her grandparents and her aunts and uncles as having perfect relationships, I wonder how she would take the news that her dad had left her mom nearly two years ago. Not that I was so up for telling her myself, it would just lead to the inevitable "I was in love with your mom" conversation that I wasn't exactly joyfully anticipating.

"After everything I had seen that night, I wasn't missing them too much." He retorted in the same low tone, barely moving his lips. I had only heard about the bonfire in the thoughts of Sam, always connected to the broken face of Bella after he found her in the woods. That was kind of a low blow, though I couldn't bring myself to care. Edward leaving was hard on Bella and I hated seeing her hurt the way she had been. On the other hand, if he hadn't left, I would have never had loved Bella. I never would have pursued her to her death, to the birth of Nessie.

I knew I had to stop this, though, before things got ugly and we lost all the work Nessie had done. I refocused the conversation. "I'm moving with them, though, so, my pack will be one short..."

Sam understood better than I thought he would. After just having seen whatever he had seen from Nessie, he wasn't going to suggest I not follow her. He promised to cover some of my pack's patrols and to contact _me_ if anything came up, before going to Leah.

After an hour-long visit, I told them that I wanted to show Nessie more of La Push and we all got up and walked to the door. Emily was holding Nessie's hand. "Oh," Emily gasped as she looked down at the little girl, "why don't you guys come down for 4th of July in two weeks?"

Nessie leaped into her mother's arms, putting a hand to her face. "Of course, you can go, Nessie." She beamed at her mother and Emily.

"All of the Cullens are invited. Jake's family is Sam's family."

Bella, Sam, and I stopped in our tracks. "Emily..." Sam started.

She looked defiantly back at him. "_All _of the Cullens are invited."

Bella tried to help Sam out, a first. "Well, I mean, I'll talk to them, but--"

"Great!" Emily reached down for Nessie and she jumped back into her arms. This time she was prepared and only made a small _oomph_ sound as she caught her weight, shifting her to her hip. "Okay, Nessie, I'll see you in a few weeks, if not sooner." She nodded her small head furiously, ringlets bouncing. "Jacob, bring this girl by, okay?" Her voice changed, it was tinged with sadness and I felt guilty. "You never visit anymore. Seth and Quil come by, to talk or to see Claire, and even Embry comes by every once in a while, although I know if it's only for my cooking. You're not in our pack anymore, but you're still in our family." I guess that answers how Emily sees the pack, it's not just Sam's, it's _hers_, too.

Nessie hugged Emily as she was put down. I pecked Emily's smooth left cheek before picking Nessie up and sitting her back up on my shoulders. "I promise I will come by, all this summer. We will," I amended when Nessie hit the top of my head. Everyone laughed as we walked back out into the overcast June day. Sam and I patted each other's backs and said goodbye. He gently tugged on one of Nessie's curls, making her giggle when it sprang back into place, while Bella and Emily hugged. Bella and Sam awkwardly and stupidly waved at each other across the yard of space that separated them before we turned around and headed back to the car.

I drove to my dad's house, crawling out again. Billy had heard the smooth-sounding engine and had come out to greet us. He joined Nessie and Bella in laughing at my discomfort. To think that this morning I had been _drooling _to drive this car. "We should have taken the Vanquish," I muttered.

Nessie was still in a good mood from having made two new friends and she jumped into Billy's lap without thinking. To my surprise, he just laughed. "Hey, Bells. It's been a long time since you've come over." She winced. I wonder if she still remembered that the last time she had, it had been to break my heart. Probably not. Like she had said earlier, human memories were blurry. It was more likely that she felt guilty, like I did now that our time in Forks was running out, for living in our own worlds the past year. I left them to catch up and showed Nessie my room. She ran her hand over the edge of my bed, peeked into my closet, and shook her head at the mess on the floor she had to step around to get to everything. I took her back out to the living room and she looked at the few family pictures we had out on display. They were old. Moms were the ones who usually updated them, I doubt Billy had ever even developed a roll of film let alone bought a picture frame. Billy and Bella talked about the only things they really had in common: me and Charlie. Nessie sat on Billy's lap as we all caught up for a while. I'm glad he was relaxing around the both of them. The first few times he had seen Bella after the change, he had eyed her nervously. Charlie had never noticed, he was too busy making sure I wasn't about to turn into a overgrown wolf. Two best friends, each afraid of the other's child.

The sun was shining out in pockets from the clouds and Bella decided to go back home while I continued my one-person, private tour of La Push. Actually, it was more like the private tour of Jacob Black's La Push. I felt like I was in the part of the movie where the guy takes the girl he's interested in back to his hometown and they bond over the "people who knew him when" and the memories he had of various places. But this was different than that. First, I was showing my childhood stomping grounds off to a girl who was a child herself, who didn't have the appreciation of it that you get with aged hindsight. To her, _everything_ had the potential to be either hugely influential or hugely inconsequential because she just didn't know yet. That made bonding over my own influential things hard, she just _couldn't_ get it, no matter how smart she was. Second, there were no similarities in our childhoods. She was born into the supernatural, I was practically grown when it had caught up to me. My childhood was fairly normal, except for my mom dying, and she was never going to be the girl who knew what it was like to play with other kids at recess in the sandbox. Third, and most importantly, it was hard to see this little girl as the future object of my romantic desire. She was just Nessie to me. Perfect? Yes. Beautiful? Yes. Mate? Definitely not. For just one moment, I wished that goddamn clock would go off already.

I remember the conversation I had had with Quil on the beach last summer, just days before I would meet Nessie for the first time. I had encouraged him to date, to have a good time with other girls at night while he was playing the babysitter by day. I understood now more than I did then, what he meant about not seeing the girls. But the weird thing is, I had already _had_ that normal human soul mate, falling in love experience. There was nothing out there for me now but a warm body on a Saturday night. Was it even safe to say that Nessie _wouldn't _be hurt if I fooled around while she was little? I mean, I _was_ starting at a new school in a few months. One where no one had known me since I was in diapers. I doubt I would have trouble finding a girl, as cocky as that sounds. Next to all the normal, weak, pimply teenage boys out there, I was a catch. Besides that, I was easy to get along with and girls had always kinda liked me. But could I _do_ it? Go out with a girl, just to go out with her? Kiss someone, just to get good at it? Get to second base or even further, just so that I wouldn't be the most inexperienced 25-year-old ever? Besides Edward, of course. And would Nessie accept it? Could she look past the fact that I was _hers_ when I had been with another girl? I mean, wasn't it bad enough that I was going to have to tell her one day that I had loved her mother? Would have married her and had kids with her if she had given me the chance? Would _still_ be loving her if not for the mythical and magical? Wouldn't that hurt her enough? And that was before she was even born, before she was even a remote _possibility_.

I usually didn't think this way. At all. But, between the imprint conversation with Charlie last night and the intense visit with Sam and Emily, my brain couldn't stop heading in this direction. I decided to push it from my mind. I was going to make this La Push tour enjoyable for the both of us. I was going to make it special, even if it wasn't special in the way that the movies made me feel it should be. Because one day, when that clock _did _go off, Nessie would look back on this day with that perfect memory of hers and _then_ all of this would be worth it.

We were near the school, so I took her there. The main doors were unlocked and I showed her each of my classrooms for the past 12 years. "Here's where I had Kindergarten...1st grade...2nd grade..." I showed her my locker for the past six years. It was weird that it would be someone else's next year. A year sooner than I would have thought. I blushed when I saw the _JB + BS_ I had etched into it sometime last year. Nessie didn't notice. She was too entranced by the school. I knew that more than anything, she wanted to go to school. She loved learning and the poor kid actually thought that that was what went on here day after day, year after year. The problem is she would always be too smart for this place. The sad thing is, _she_ thinks the problem is that she would always be too _abnormal_ for this place.

I didn't want to depress her more than I was afraid I already had, so I took her to the beach. We walked all along the miles of shoreline that made up the western edge of La Push, cutting though the woods when we had to. She seemed to be taking it all in. The forest life may be the same near her house, but it didn't smell the same, didn't feel the same. We saw the tide pools and she knew the scientific names of the all fish. When I looked surprised she shrugged, embarrassed, and said that she had been studying, hoping to see them on this trip. That made me happy, at least I had done one thing right. I told her about the rock formations, told her about the times my people had used those rocks as protection, told her about the burial place of all the old Quileute Chiefs. She wanted to swim out to them, but there were too many tourists at the beach and it would look suspicious, especially if a little girl did it.

We walked along the rocks for a long time. I was used to the silence when it was just the two of us. She didn't like to speak and I didn't like to force her to. If she had something to say, I knew she'd show me, like she had shown me an image of us swimming to the islands. Suddenly, she crouched to the ground and picked up one of the millions of rocks that hugged the sand and the water. It looked like a normal rock to me, a dark red one, so I guess that was fairly uncommon. But she was staring at it with such intensity that when she knew I had caught her doing it, she looked away and pretended to be fascinated by the waves. She pocketed it and I didn't say a word. A half mile later I asked if she wanted to learn how to skip rocks. She did and I told her how to find the right kind of stones, how to flick her wrist. She was good at it, like most things, and she was having fun. I took her down to the store on the beach and introduced her to Embry's mom. She still knew nothing about the wolf packs and was more than a little stand-offish to me. It made sense, she equated me and the rest of the wolves with the trouble she felt her son had been getting into for over a year. She liked Nessie, though. Who didn't?

We went back to the beach and I sat on a log, pulling Nessie on to my lap, sighing as she leaned back into me. We shared a bag of sunflower seeds I had brought from the house. She didn't like the seeds, she just liked sucking off the salt. We stayed like that for a while, until it began to cloud over again and a wave of late-morning fog made its way towards the beach, passing over the island rocks until I could only see the faintest outline of tree lines on top. I sighed at the beauty of it all, pulling Nessie closer to me. The sunflower seeds weren't doing much for my lunchtime appetite and I was about to stand up and take her back to my place, when I felt a wetness fall from her face and onto my hand. I whipped her body around so that she was facing me and she sobbed into my chest. What had happened? What had I done?

"Nessie, honey, what's wrong? You can tell me. Please?" She mumbled into my chest, but I couldn't hear her. "What, Nessie? C'mon, I couldn't hear. What is it?"

She moved her head up my chest, not lifting it, until her chin hooked into my shoulder so I could hear her speak but not see her face. Tears were still rolling down her face, though, I could feel them wet my shirt. She showed me still-shots from our morning: Sam, Emily, Billy, my house, my school, and the beach with the fog rolling in as it was in front of us right now. Then, she showed me pictures of my pack. "You're leaving all this for me." What? How was I supposed to respond to that? Of course I was, but why was she saying it like it was a bad thing? I tried to think of a way to explain this to her without going into imprinting or what it means. It was like explaining why I was moving to Charlie all over again.

"Renesmee." She pulled away to look at me. I never used her full name. "You're my family now. I wouldn't want to be away from you any more than you'd want to be away from your parents or your aunts or Carlisle and Esme."

She seemed to understand, her face was dry, at least. She showed me a picture of Billy, of my pack. "They're your family, too."

Dammit. She had a point. I wasn't telling her the whole truth and she knew it. I thought about likening it to her parents being apart or her aunts and uncles being apart or Carlisle and Esme being apart, but that seemed a bit on the nose to me. I didn't want to make it seem like we were a couple the way they were, _mates_. So I settled for something she would understand. I wasn't sure if it would sound more intimate than I wanted, but it would have to do. "Remember what you showed Emily and Sam, earlier?" I knew she did, I always felt odd saying that in front of the Cullens, but it was a figure of speech and it was hard not to use it as a means of bring something up. She nodded, but she didn't give me the usual look she gave me when I asked her something obvious like that. "Well, how do you think Sam would feel if he couldn't see Emily every day? I'm not leaving for _you_, Nessie, I'm leaving for _me." _She tilted her head to one side, thoughtfully. I thought she would blush like she had earlier at Emily's, but she didn't. It made me wonder why she had in the first place. She usually only blushed when I gave her compliments she thought she didn't deserve, so I understood why she had blushed when Sam called her special. There really was too much Bella in her. It amused me to think that the Jacob of a year ago would have thought that too much Bella in anyone couldn't possibly be a bad thing. But what about the second time, when I had kissed her and told her I loved her? She never blushed when I did that.

"Do you want to see what I showed them?" This was turning into one of the longest conversations we had ever had and she had only said three sentences. Actually, it was one of the longest she'd ever had with _anyone_. I nodded. I tried to seem somewhat casual about it, not wanting to pressure her into it even though she was the one who had offered. But I desperately wanted to see it, to see what had made Sam so happy. My face or the force of the nod must have betrayed me because she giggled. She rested her chin on my shoulder again, projecting through a hand on the back of my neck while I looked out at the ocean.

She surprised me. I had expected to see Sam or Emily's face. Instead, there was only darkness. I felt a brush going through too-long hair, it felt good. The memory continued as the eyes I was looking through opened. I saw Nessie in a mirror, she was tuning out Alice's babbling as she was groomed. Then, she saw me in the corner of the mirror and looked at me. I remembered that day. I had come over on a Saturday morning, searching the house until I had found her in Alice and Jasper's room. She looked so content, so beautiful, that I had stood in the doorway and stared. I didn't know what my face had looked like until now.

I looked like a man who had just found out that the world he lived in was perfect. In this man's world there was only peace, there was only happiness, there was only love...and now he saw it. He walked over and kissed the cheek of the cause of his epiphany, unable to contain himself. She watched the man kiss her, knowing exactly what he felt. The brushing had stopped and her eyes half closed, she was still watching her reflection. Except for the movement of her eyes, she looked as though she were taking in a common occurrence, which she was. The recency of the bliss that came with the brush in her hair, however, compared in no way to the strength of the feeling that came with the look on his face and his kiss on her cheek. She was ecstatic to be the cause of his sudden contentment and she wished she could put that look on his face more often, every day, every chance she got. And as his kiss continued to burn on her cheek long after his lips had left the skin, she realized that all she wanted in return was a kiss every time he felt it, so that she could feel just as wonderful as he did.

A full minute passed after the image ended and I just looked out at the sea while she hugged me around the neck. "I'm glad you're staying with me, Jacob."

I didn't realize that my jaw hurt from the smile that threatened to overrun my face, until I spoke. "I'll never leave you, Nessie. I love you."

The wind shifted and I smelled Bella. So did Nessie. We looked to my right at the same time. She was walking towards us, but she stopped in the dirt parking lot. "Ready to go? I'm surprised you guys are still out here, it's past your lunchtime, Jake." She didn't call out, and if anyone had been looking, they might have thought she was talking to herself. My stomach growled as a reply and I held Nessie against me as I walked us towards her mom. "What are you two grinning about?"

***

Carlisle had agreed to Emily's 4th of July invitation on behalf of the entire family. They decided to only go to the bonfire at night, skipping the beach party because Alice foresaw that it would be a sunny day. Only Blondie, Jasper, and Edward really had a problem with going. Edward was still didn't like to think about Nessie with a bunch of werewolves. He was overjoyed when he found out that we had only seen Sam on our visit to La Push. Jasper was worried about the emotional climate he'd be walking into when the two groups of mortal enemies met up. Not that I blamed him, the first time he had seen half of them, Paul had nearly gotten into it with Emmett and Blondie and he had had to calm everyone down. Blondie just didn't want to hang out with humans and "a bunch of dogs" all night. She huffed out of the room after that.

On the other hand, Alice was barely able to control her excitement, stopping just long enough to give us her weather forecast and to grab Nessie's hand before humming and dancing her way back upstairs. Edward had looked after them shaking his head. She was probably going to pick out the perfect 4th of July outfit for Nessie to wear. Esme and Bella decided to bring dinner and set about making a list of the foods they wanted to cook. I told them it wasn't necessary, there would probably be hot dogs to roast and bags of chips. "What are you going to have at the beach for lunch?" Esme had asked. I had shrugged and told her that it would probably be more hot dogs and chips. She insisted that I give her Emily's number "to coordinate the menu." That's exactly what she had said, "to coordinate the menu." If there was one person who didn't see the wolves as a bunch of animals, it was Esme.

To Emmett, though, it was all we were. Large, intelligent animals that he could wrestle against for fun. "How many of your brothers would be up for a little action that night?"

I raised my eyebrows. "I don't think any of them would want to sleep with you, Emmett." Edward and Jasper laughed.

He rolled his eyes. "C'mon, you know what I mean. You think they'd wrestle with me if I promised not to bite?"

"Man, do you listen to yourself? You're just setting up the jokes _for _me."

"Emmett," Carlisle interrupted before he could ask me a _third_ time. "Perhaps it would be best to refrain from fighting with our hosts. They are already being gracious enough by inviting us onto their land, let's not seem hostile once we are there."

"Yeah, Emmett. I don't want to bail your ass out if you and that gray one get into it again." So Jasper _had_ been thinking about that first time when we were chasing Victoria.

"Paul's temper's gotten a little better now that he's imprinted." I found myself defending my future brother-in-law for who knows what reason.

"Paul, eh?" But Emmett didn't really mean it as a question. He was saying the name thoughtfully to himself. Probably storing it so he could ask him to wrestle if the situation presented itself once he got there. Edward caught my eye and nodded to me.

"Don't do it, Emmett." I warned. "_I'm _going to have to be the one bailing _him_ out if you two get into it."

"I wasn't going to," he said for Carlisle's benefit, but from the look on his face, he didn't believe him. "Why would you have to bail him out, anyway? He's not in your pack."

"Worse. He's family."

"So? I thought you guys were all family? Cousins and everything."

"We are, kinda. It's just that he's imprinted, like I told you before, on my sister."

"Your _cousin_ imprinted on your _sister_? That's fucked up, man." Jasper laughed, but Edward pointed upstairs, reminding him that Renesmee was in hearing range. He ignored him completely. "I mean, I thought the whole thing about imprinting was_ stronger _wolves, not deformed ones." Jasper laughed again and Edward joined him this time.

The weird thing is, I had never really thought about that. Paul was the first to imprint on a relative of another wolf. Sam did, I guess, but it was before Leah and Seth were wolves, and Emily's their cousin on the other side. "Well, all of us can go back to the same guy like I don't know how many generations back, but there are three different great-grandfathers we could have. So, Paul and Rachel related, but not really. But everyone on the Rez is kinda like that."

Carlisle had listened intently to my answer. "Was there a first wolf who you're all descended from?" I nodded. "Fascinating. Has anyone done the complete genealogy of the pack?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, all the records are _somewhere_ on the Rez. My dad probably knows. The records on our family are really good, not because we're wolves, just because we're descendants of Ephraim, and the Chiefs' family records are kept really well. Or they used to be."

Jasper joined in the conversation. "I wasn't around when you guys made the first treaty with the the Quileutes. You're Ephraim Black's great-grandson?" I nodded. "Is that why you're Alpha?" I nodded again. "But there are other male descendants who are too old to be wolves?"

"Well, yeah. My dad."

His eyebrows shot up, so did Emmett's. "Wait, man. So, you're like Chief or something?" Emmett asked, kind of in awe.

"No, we don't have Chiefs anymore."

"Yeah, but if you did, you'd be it?"

"No, my dad would."

"Aw, c'mon, man. You know what I mean. One day you're gonna be Chief." He didn't ask this time, it was a statement. I just shrugged. "No, man, that's awesome."

"I think so, too," Bella said, looking up from her list. Esme had gone into the other room to call Emily. "Chief Jacob." She had that same stupid look on her face that she had had when she said it the first time, a year ago. "You should hear their old legends, about the spirit warriors and the first wolf and the third wife."

"How do you remember all that? You can't remember human things, right?" The men in her family turned to her, surprised, and I knew I was right.

"It can't be part of her newborn control, I've seen some of her human memories and they're blurry like the rest of ours." Edward must have been answering someone's internal question. "Do you think about the stories often, Bella?"

"I've thought about them a couple of times," she admitted. "They're easier to remember than regular memories. It's sort of like remembering the plot to a book I read as a human. They're not really sensory memories, more like something I just know." They all seemed appeased by her explanation. Her talking about the stories and what Carlisle had asked earlier about the wolves had given me an idea. Edward raised his eyebrows at me. What? I think it's a good idea. He just shrugged.

Esme walked back into the room, writing something down on the list, still talking to Emily. Bella nodded at whatever she had written. "Okay, Emily. ... You don't have to thank us, dear, guests should always bring something to a party. We're just unaccustomed to thinking about food and thought it was better to ask. ... Jacob? Yes, he's here. ... Alright, dear, we'll keep in touch." To me she said, "Jacob, Sam needs to speak to you."

I took the phone from her and walked outside, in case the Cullens wouldn't like what he had to say. What was with me defending the wolves today? I guess I was defending Esme's feelings, more. "Hey, Sam. What's up?"

"So, this is really going to happen, then?"

"Looks like it. They're not going to the barbecue on the beach, though. Sun."

"Ah. Your brothers are not going to like this."

"I think the five-course dinner they're preparing might help win a few of them over."

He laughed. "You may be right about that. I just don't know how we're going to eat around them."

"Upwind?" I suggested. I was the wrong person to ask, I was completely accustomed to them, now. He laughed, again. He seemed to be in a good mood, considering. I decided to tell him about my idea. "Hey, Sam? Old Quil and Billy are coming to the bonfire at night, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was thinking. I mean, I know this whole thing wasn't really your idea, but you have to admit, it may not be a bad thing. And I was kinda wondering. I mean, it was only because Bella was talking about it earlier. Well..."

"Spit it out, Jake."

"You know how whenever there's a new wolf or a new imprint we tell the stories?" There was silence on the other end. I decided to keep explaining myself, even though he knew exactly where I was going with this. I figured it might not be a bad thing, giving him more time to think. "Well, I mean, I don't know when we'll be in town next or when Edward's ever going to let Nessie go to one of these bonfires again." Good, bring Nessie into it, he likes her. "And I know she'd really want to hear them. I don't know, I just figured it would be the perfect opportunity. Plus, I know Carlisle would be interested in them." Good, Carlisle, too. He respects Carlisle. "I could talk to my dad about it. I'm sure he'd do it, especially for Nessie. And Quil could talk to Old Quil. I don't think Claire's heard them, yet, either. I'm sure Old Quil would do it for Claire, he loves that kid." I just kept talking. I was going to keep talking until I heard a yes. "It might be interesting telling those stories in front of real cold ones, too. Show them we could take them if we wanted." Too much, huh? There was a sigh on the other end of the line. Yeah, too much.

"I'll talk to Billy and Old Quil about it. I'm not promising anything. I don't know how I feel about telling them just how much we know or telling them that much about ourselves."

I wanted to tell him that we knew nothing more about them than that they smell bad to us, that we have to burn their pieces to kill them, and that they really like blood. I wanted to tell him that we don't know anything about them that we didn't show them we knew during the newborn battle. I wanted to tell him that Carlisle could fill whole volumes with the things he knew about vampires that he would tell Sam in an instant if he asked. I wanted to tell him that we were past the days of spirit warriors and people murdering our bodies to take over as Chief. I wanted to tell him that we weren't really as complex as all that. Instead, I said, "Thanks, Sam. It means a lot. Really."

***

The 4th of July was on a Wednesday this year. That meant it was the end of a five-day weekend, the beginning of a five-day weekend, a weird day off in the middle of the week, or just another free day of summer. The beach was crowded with tourists and locals from the Rez and Forks. I had picked Nessie up and driven her back to my house in my Rabbit. Alice had gone a little overboard with her outfit today. She had two french-braided pigtails with red, white, and blue ribbons woven into them and she was wearing a navy polo shirt dress with red flip-flops. Her bag was red canvas and Alice had packed her a red and white striped beach towel and every type of sunscreen and sunblock imaginable. Edward and Carlisle thought that it would be unnecessary, considering her skin was impenetrable, and that probably meant UV rays couldn't get through, either. Nessie had packed herself a book to read and her mp3 player.

She looked nervous as I parked and opened my door to get out. I didn't know if it was because she had never been around so many strangers, or if it was because she had never been around so many _humans._ I knew her thirst was under control, we had gone hunting last night in preparation, and I think she drank more than she needed. But, the thirst was never satiated, and I wondered how hard this would be for her. On the other hand, she might just be nervous to be introduced to the other pack and all their families. She looked at me, unmoving in her seat, and asked in a whisper, "What if they don't like me?" So it _was_ the pack she was worried about.

"They will, Nessie. Trust me." I hope I wasn't lying. "Besides, you'll know a lot of people who are there. Charlie and Sue, Leah and Seth, Sam and Emily, Billy, Embry, and Quil. That's ten people already." She held up nine fingers. "That's only because you're not counting me, kid." She smiled. "C'mon. It'll be fun. Plus, you'll get to meet my sister, Rachel, and Claire. Remember Quil was telling you about Claire? C'mon." I walked around the car and opened her door. She still hadn't moved. I knelt down outside the car. "Is that really all that's bothering you?" She put her hand to my face and showed me everyone I had named eating, she wasn't. "They know you don't eat. Charlie's the only one you have to worry about hiding stuff like that from. Besides, we'll make you a plate and I'll sneak food off of it like I always do." She showed me another image, a crowded beach, she put some thirst into it. "I know it's going to be hard for you, Nessie. I'm sorry. If it's too much we'll leave, okay? I'll tell them that Edward would only let you stay for a few minutes, or something." She showed me another image, her skin sparkling in the sun, people staring and pointing. "Aw, c'mon Nessie, you've been in the sun before, you know it's not like that." I was beginning to think she was just trying to come up with as many different things as possible to get out of going. "If anyone says anything about it, we'll tell them Alice put some glittery lotion on you. If they know Alice, they'll believe it. If not, they'll believe it when they meet her later tonight." She showed me yet another image, she was in the water, swimming too fast, taking too long between breaths. "Well, then don't swim too fast and take breaths when everyone else does. While you're at it, don't run too fast or throw too hard or any of the other stuff you're already used to not doing in front of humans. C'mon, Nessie. Now you're just stalling." She stuck her tongue out at me. "You gonna walk or do I have to carry you?" She grabbed her bag and opened the door wider so she could storm pass me. Good, angry was good, it was better than scared. She knew how to get to the beach from my house thanks to her vampiric memory, and once she was there it was easy to spot the wolves. Everyone was gawking at the too-fit guys tossing around a football, playing volleyball, or just lounging. All without their shirts and all with every single muscle defined to the point that they looked like walking anatomy book illustrations.

Seth waved when he saw us, ducking under his side of the volleyball net to run over and pick up Nessie, swinging her around. "Hey, kid. You look bigger since the last time I saw you." She smiled. He usually said something like that when he saw her. I don't know if he did it because she liked it or if he could see the smaller changes in her that I didn't because of his less frequent visits. He held her out and took in her outfit. "Alice?" She nodded slowly. Then she reached out towards his face and he brought her closer so she could make contact. "Oh, yeah, Nessie? Tonight? Awesome!"

I had caught up to them by then. "What's tonight?" Nessie ignored me. Great. So maybe her anger wasn't better than fear...for me.

Seth set her down and she went over to Sue and Charlie. "Hi, Grandpa. Hi, Sue." Charlie gave her a hug and glared at me over her head. Aw, shit. I had completely forgotten that I hadn't seen him since our little conversation a few weeks ago. And I had to deal with him with Nessie here, too. Great. Things just kept getting better and better. At least Sue gave me a hug when I walked over to their canvas folding chairs under a large beach umbrella.

"Hey, Sue. Hey, Charlie." He mumbled a hello and then in a lower voice that he thought I couldn't hear, said, "Go away and leave my granddaughter alone." Thankfully, Nessie had already walked over to Sam and Emily who were sitting under their own umbrella on the other side of the large grouping, so she didn't hear him. Maybe in the mood she was in, she wouldn't have minded him too much. Leah, who was sun bathing on a towel near her mom's feet heard, though. She laughed. I kicked some sand at her. Not that there was very much of it. The wolves had gotten a good spot, near enough to the water to have a few yards of sand before it turned into large unyielding rocks. Everybody with chairs had them set up at the border of the rocks, so that they could still dig their toes into the warm sand. I don't even know why they had brought out the volleyball net. People were looking at them as if they were crazy. The rocks under them didn't hurt their feet, but they should have.

I walked around, saying my hellos. All of the new wolves were playing volleyball, so I figured I'd talk to them later. My sister and Paul were in the water and it looked like he was trying to grope her under the rolling waves. I growled softly. Most of the wolves turned around, including him. He saw me and straightened up. My sister looked confused until she followed Paul's gaze and saw me. She thought Paul had stopped on his own and she waved happily at me. He took her by the hand and swam her out farther. I shook my head at him. I walked over to Sam and Emily because Nessie was still over there, sitting on Emily's lap. She was pointing out everyone to her. "And that's Jared and his..." I madly shook my head behind Nessie. Emily tried again. "I mean, that's Kim and _her_ Jared." I nodded, gratefully. It seems like I had come over just in time. This intrigued Nessie, who immediately looked over at the couple. Jared was brushing a piece of hair out of Kim's face as she sunbathed with her eyes closed on the sand. She smiled at the touch, but didn't open her eyes. Nessie nodded at Emily, as if in agreement. Sam and I laughed at that and Emily just looked even more taken in by her.

I figured that seeing another imprinted couple might have made her a little friendlier to _her _Jacob. "Hey, Nessie, you want to go in the water, I'll introduce you to my sister?" I was right, she smiled and nodded. She put down her bag next to Emily's chair and pointed questioningly at one of the many sunscreen bottles popping out of it. "Edward said it was up to you, but you don't have to." She thought for a second, took off her small dress and her flip-flops, and started walking slowly towards the water.

"Aw!" Emily's smile got bigger when she saw Nessie's two-piece. Leah scoffed, but I shot her a look and she shut up. The top was blue with white stars and the bottoms were red and white striped.

Charlie had looked up when he heard Leah laugh and saw Nessie. "Alice?" he asked her, knowingly. She nodded, glumly.

Sue repeated Emily's outburst and so did Kim, who had sat up to see what everyone was talking about. I decided it was a good time to introduce them, and I did. "Nice to meet you, Kim. Nice to meet you, Jared." They looked taken aback by her formality and perfect speech, but they knew who she was, so it didn't surprised them too much. Jared looked a little more wary of her than Kim did.

"Well, I love your bathing suit, Nessie. And whoever Alice is, she has great taste."

"Oh, Alice is my aunt. If you go to the bonfire tonight, you can meet her." Jared made a face at that that Nessie, thankfully, didn't catch. Goddamn these guys. If they made today hard on Nessie, I swear I would make them regret it. And now I had to go introduce her to the biggest ass of them all, when I introduced her to my sister.

"Hey! You guys going in? Wait for me." Seth was coming back from the makeshift volleyball court.

As he passed by his mom, she stopped him. "Seth, would you run back to the house, I forgot my suntan lotion?" I laughed.

"Wait, Seth." I grabbed Nessie's bag and walked it over to them. "Here, Sue. I'm sure that whatever you need is in there." She looked confused until she began to look through it, then she looked even more confused. "Why did you bring all this, Jake?" Charlie looked into the bag, over her shoulder.

"Alice?" It was Seth who said it this time, for the second time. Nessie nodded again and everyone around laughed.

We went into the water and swam out to Paul and Rachel. They had been out there for a while and Rachel was tired, so Paul was holding her while he stayed afloat for both of them. I introduced her to Rachel and she gave her a hug. "Ooh," she said when Nessie was back in the water, "you're as warm as the wolves! Do you ever get cold?" Nessie shook her head. "You have very pretty hair and I love the strings you put in it."

"Thank you. My Aunt Alice goes a little crazy sometimes."

"It's 4th of July, I think you're supposed to go a little crazy with the red, white, and blue."

Paul hadn't said anything, until he said, "C'mon, Babe, I'm getting tired. Let's get out now." She agreed and said goodbye as they swam back to the shore.

"Ass," Seth said under his breath. I nodded in agreement, Nessie just looked confused.

I distracted her by challenging her and Seth to a breath-holding contest. She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know." To Seth I said, "I just told her in the car not to hold her breath for too long so she doesn't look suspicious." Seth laughed and I turned back to her. "But if we don't go underwater, we're far enough away from everybody that no one would know what we were doing." They both agreed and we took a deep breath. We treaded water, staring back and forth at each other for a very long time. Seth broke first, gasping wildly. He looked so funny, Nessie almost started to laugh. That gave me an idea. I started making stupid faces at her. That didn't work. I started pretending that I was going to tickle her. Not actually doing it, but trying to make her think I was. That didn't work. I wasted so much energy that I had to take a breath. She was still fine. She let it go slowly, not panting at all. We gaped at her. She smiled slyly. "And your lungs are so much smaller than ours. Was it even uncomfortable?" She shrugged, nodding. She put a hand to my face, first, and then Seth's, showing us what she had felt. It was uncomfortable, like a weird form of sensory deprivation, but other than that it had just lowered her heart rate, so that it was beating more like a human's who had just run a marathon. I wonder if her heart rate made it so that it would take it a lot longer to feel like she was going to pass out than the rest of us did. Her brain was being deprived of the full amount of oxygen it was accustomed to, but not of a steady supply of altogether. "Cool," I concluded. Seth agreed.

We swam around for a bit, trying to play Marco Polo. She had never played and was excited until we found that it was too easy with our hearing and each others' scents. Half an hour after we had gotten in the water, we were met up by Quil, who had Claire on his back, her arms clutching his neck. We introduced the girls. They looked about the same age, Nessie might have had the edge. She already looked like a four-year-old and Claire's fourth birthday wasn't until August. In minds, though, they were light years apart. Claire still had trouble with some word tenses and some letter sounds, and those were only the obvious speech differences. Nessie quickly learned all the differences and was a little disappointed. Claire was the first person she had ever met that was her "age" and it was apparent that they were too dissimilar to interact well together. Claire, on the other hand, loved Nessie, and didn't seem to understand that they looked to be the same age. She assumed Nessie was way older than her, not even seeing the similarities in size. To her, Nessie was interesting, funny, and "special." Quil took her to see the tide pools, while we swam back towards the shore.

It wasn't until I got out of the water that I realized that I hadn't brought a towel. I told Nessie and she rolled her eyes at me. She walked over to her bag, now sitting next to Sue and Charlie and brought out her red and white striped one, along with a blue and white striped one. "I love Alice!" There was more laughter. I wonder what Alice would think when she got to the bonfire tonight and found herself to be a mini-celebrity. Who was I kidding, she'd love it.

Sue was sitting in her chair reading a book. "Nessie, are you reading _Pride and Prejudice_?" Nessie nodded. "I haven't read it since high school. Have you read it before?" She shook her head. "What do you think of Elizabeth?"

"Oh, I like her. I like her and Jane and Charlotte, although I was sorry she had to marry that horrible Mr. Collins just because she was starting to be seen as an old maid. I don't like any of Elizabeth's other sisters, though, or her mother. I like Mr. Bingley and I like Mr. Darcy in a weird way, even though he was mean to Elizabeth, although now it's starting to look like he might like her. I don't like Miss Bingley, though. I think she might be the worst character in the book. I just think it's funny that she's exactly like Lydia and Mrs. Bennett and yet she looks down her nose at _them_. I like Mr. Wickham a little, I guess, though it seems like all he does is make fun of everything and everybody. It's an interesting book, though. It makes me want to to go England." Everyone had gone quiet as she talked about a book that all of us would have to be forced into reading. And here she was, a nine-month-old four-year-old, going on and on about it, in what was probably her longest monologue to date. Books. That's what got her going. Well, that and being surrounded by humans, one of whom she was not allowed under any circumstances to use her gift on.

They just weren't used to her, yet. But Seth was. He didn't even seem to feel the tension coming off everyone as every bone in their body took Nessie in and screamed _Not right, something's not right._ Yup, Seth just continued to dry off and said, "Well, at least you might get to go to England without having to learn to Old English or something." He laughed at his own joke, because no one else got it. So he explained Edward's promise to everyone and they looked at Nessie again with that same unease. This girl knows Latin, is learning Ancient Greek, and will soon learn _other _languages, just so her rich daddy will let her travel the world? _Not right, something's not right. _But then he managed to ease all their tension and turn the whole mood around. "So, get this, to get Nessie to come down here in the first place, Jake had her learn Quileute!"

There was a chorus of _What_'s and some disbelieving grunts and chuckles. Sue was the one who decided to test her. "Basáł xaxíḳtiya*."

"_Ha__ç__h__áł _xaxíḳtiya**," Nessie corrected her. Emily and Sam laughed. Figures that they would know the most Quileute out of all of us; especially Emily, she was a nerd when it came to tribal stuff like that. I wonder if she was trying to make up for the fact that she was Makah. The rest of us waited for Sue's smile to let us know she had understood what she had said and had responded correctly. Then everybody was impressed.

Seth just laughed. "I told you, guys." You would have thought that this would have made everyone a bit _more_ uneasy. This girl knows the dead language of Latin, is learning the dead language of Ancient Greek, and is fluent in the practically unused small Native American language of Quileute, and she's only been alive for _nine months_? But all they heard was, she learned Quileute for Jake, to come here, to be with us. And they _liked_ her for of it. I didn't understand why their ease seemed to have vanished, but I wasn't going to complain.

Deciding to leave on a high note, I took Nessie over to Embry, who was manning the grill. We said hi and he gave Nessie a hug. That boy was a pig amongst wolves. For every three hot dogs he put on the grill, he ate one raw, not wanting to wait the time it would take to cook There was a nearly empty extra large chip bag on the side of the grill next to a half-empty two liter of soda, an empty two-liter bottle was at his feet. "Your mom tell you I saw her yesterday?"

"Yeah. She said you brought in Renesmee, she was kinda weirded out by that. She didn't know who she was and I didn't think I should tell her she was Bella's daughter."

"Probably not. For Nessie to look this age, Bella would have had to have shown up in Forks with a toddler. She working?"

"Yeah. Today's a big day for souvenirs. You gonna help with the fireworks this year? You missed them last year."

"Sure, sure." I hoped he wouldn't bring up _why_ I had missed them last year, when I had been wolfing it to get my mind off of Bella's wedding and eventual change.

After lunch we went to the tide pools again. They were crowded and I stopped Nessie from telling me the names and habits of all the life after some of the other tourists started to stare at the four-year-old wildlife prodigy. Back at the camp, some of the new wolves were playing cards. They asked me to join and I figured that I might as well. After all, part of what I wanted to get out of today was getting back in good standings with Sam's pack and to get to know the guys I didn't. Nessie sat on my lap, reading her book, listening to her music. We played poker, betting using our patrol shifts. I was betting recklessly, I had been running double-shifts for so long that it didn't seem like such a horrible thing, anymore. Plus, I didn't mind the morning shifts, it allowed me to see Nessie all day without worrying about leaving to patrol. I got into an intense one-on-one stand-off with the youngest of the new wolves. He was a little cocky and he felt like he had something to prove. He sorta reminded me of Leah when she first phased. He wanted to take down an Alpha and we were both betting high. Nessie had closed her book and had taken off her headphones, yawning. Today had been a busy and exciting day for her and the hot weather was getting to her. Bella had wanted me to take her back so that she could nap and Alice wanted her to have another wardrobe change. I knew this was going to be my last hand, I had to make it count.

I showed Nessie my cards. "What do you think? You think I'll win?" She didn't know the rules of the game, so I explained them to her quickly. She asked me how many cards there were and how the deck was set up. Then she asked me which hands beat which. The young kid rolled his eyes at my patience with her. He looked at another new guy and mouthed _imprint,_ rolling his eyes again. It didn't bug me too much, I used to _be_ that kid. Nessie was looking over my cards again, and the communal cards. She nodded. "Yeah? I'm gonna win? You sure?" She nodded again.

"Wait," the kid said. "What was that all about?" He obviously knew who I was and had heard about my half-vampire imprint. "Can she see the future or something? That's not fair." Sue and Charlie were still there, watching the scene, but it just sounded like nonsense to him. I was about to say something to make it seem like it really _was_ just nonsense when Nessie spoke up for herself. That made me smile.

"No, I can't see the future, I can do _math_." Seth, who was playing sitting next to me, laughed. "Jacob has over an 85% chance of winning."

"Where did you learn how to do that kind of math?"

She shrugged when she turned around in my lap to look up at me. "Daddy taught me simple math a long time ago and then Uncle Jasper said he'd teach me statistics before I learned algebra, because it was easier. Did you know he really likes math?" I just shook my head, still smiling down at her. When was she learning all this? I guess she only had to read a book to learn it, that couldn't take too long for her.

"Oh, yeah?" The kid looked pissed that this four-year-old had made him seem like an idiot. "You haven't seen_ my_ cards, so how could you possibly know that?"

She paused, sighing as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I knew she was like Bella, but maybe she _was_ a little like her father, too. My smile widened, Seth laughed again. "The two things are not mutually exclusive, the odds of you winning are dependent upon the odds of Jacob winning. I know the odds that you'll win, so I know the odds that he'll win. You have less than a 15% chance of having the combinations of two cards that will beat him. So, if I were going to bet, I'd bet on him." He blew her off and bet high, not wanting to seem swayed by a little girl's mathematical skills. She rolled her eyes and took my cards away from me so that she could slam them on the rocks in front of us, herself. "Come on, you probably had two pairs, right?" He didn't say anything, just threw his cards into the space between us, face down, and stormed off. She flipped them over and, in a voice she knew he could still hear said, "See? Two pairs."

***

Nessie fell asleep on the car ride back to the Cullens' and I refused to tell them anything about what had happened at the beach until she woke up. I took a nap myself, partially to keep Edward from seeing the day in my thoughts and partially because I had overeaten and was slipping into a food coma. I slept on the sofa with Nessie on my chest.

When I woke up, the heat on my chest was gone and I could smell Bella and Esme's cooking. I could hear that Jasper and Emmett were wrestling in the backyard and that Blondie was watching them. It must have been Carlisle's idea to keep Emmett from fighting with the guys later. Bella, Esme, and Edward were in the kitchen putting the food in buffet containers. And Nessie was up in Jasper and Alice's room, I could hear her giggling. I sat up and a note that was on my chest, fell on my lap.

_Jake,_

_I bought you a pair of trunks, but earlier you left before I could tell you to change into them. Now you don't have an excuse. _ I groaned. _Use the guest bathroom to shower, I'll leave them on the bed for you._

_Alice_

A shower wasn't such a bad idea, I still had sand on me and I smelled like salt water. The trunks weren't bad, either. They were maroon and felt different than the trunks I had always had, made out of a softer material. I bet they were expensive. She put a navy chino short-sleeve button-up shirt next to it that I assumed I was supposed to put on. I did, but I didn't button it. I loved the summer, it was the only time that I could go walking around barefoot, wearing clothes exactly how I liked them, and no one thought anything of it.

After I dressed, I walked down into the kitchen. Alice had obviously dressed Bella. She was wearing a muted Hawaiian print halter dress. It wasn't bright or showy or anything, but it wasn't really Bella. At least Alice had let her wear flat sandals. Esme was wearing linen pants and a button-up blouse. Edward. Well, I laughed when I saw Edward.

"Shut up, _dog_." That just made me laugh harder. Edward was wearing shorts, cargo shorts! Somehow he made the linen shirt he was wearing look...stiff. I laughed even harder when I saw the canvas flip-flops she had him in.

"No, Edward, it's cool. You're legs are cute! I mean, your toes are cute! I mean..." A look from Esme had me trail off at the end. But the damage had been done, Jasper and Emmett had stopped fighting just to laugh. Edward's hands were clenched in fists at his sides.

Upstairs, Alice called out to her husband and siblings to come inside and change. I started to unroll the sides of the foil covering the dishes, Bella slapped my hand, smiling at me. I smiled back. "You look nice, Bells."

Edward came up beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You always do that, Jacob. You always tell Bella she looks good or fine or pretty, when really she looks gorgeous." Bella and I rolled our eyes in unison, but she let him kiss her.

I heard Alice run out the front door before running back in the house and up the stairs. I don't know how she was managing to be running around, even though she was only going to be a _guest _at the party. Blondie came into the kitchen. She didn't seem any happier about attending this thing than she had two weeks ago, when she found out she'd be forced into going. She had dolled herself up for it, though. All she wore on top was a black bikini top and on the bottom she wore a black sarong that showed off the entire length of one of her legs. Her black strappy heels were too high for a runway, let alone a beach-side bonfire. Her outfit said one thing: if she was going to go hang out with a bunch of dogs, she sure as hell was going to leave them panting.

Edward laughed at that. "You're not wrong, Jacob." And shook his head dismissively at Bella when she looked curious.

Emmett came in right after wearing cargo shorts and a tight black tee. He looked his wife up and down appreciatively a few times before pushing her against the wall and kissing her. As soon as we heard her first moan, we picked up the trays and went to wait in the living room.

Jasper walked down the stairs wearing long black linen pants and a blood red chino shirt like mine. His was long-sleeved, though, and he wore it buttoned up with the sleeves rolled up to right below his elbow. Alice wore a sarong in the same color as Jasper's shirt that she had skillfully tied around her body into a one-strapped dress. Her platform sandals had a string tying them to her foot which continued up her calves. Nessie hopped down the stairs a few steps behind her. She wore a maroon shirt dress that looked like the shirt I had on. She had taken out the pigtails and ribbons in her hair and put it in a high ponytail, instead. She looked beautiful. Jasper groaned. "Please, you two. Can we go?" Blondie walked out of the kitchen, fixing the straps on her top and the tie on her skirt. It took Emmett a while to join us. I picked Nessie up in one arm and balanced two huge buffet containers on my other hand. We fit most of the food in Edward's trunk, the rest went in Emmett's Jeep.

We made it to the bottom of the cliff we'd be climbing, in only a few minutes. Nessie was straddling the back of my neck as we reached the bonfire at the top of the hill. I heard her gasp as she saw the different colors in the fire. She showed the flames to me, lacing a question in the image. "It's a driftwood fire, honey. The salt makes the flames burn in different colors. Do you like it?" She was leaning forward, resting her head on her crossed arms that were laying on top of my head. I felt her nod. I smiled. It was awkward for a few minutes as the two groups looked at each other, not sure how to mix. Emily stood up and came to hug Bella and Nessie. Bella introduced her to Esme and they hugged. She thanked the Cullens for the food as Sam came up behind her, shaking hands with Jasper, Emmett, and Edward, leaving an arm around Emily's waist. In fact, every male vampire and all the wolves with imprints were claiming and protecting their mates with a arm around their waist.

I decided to cross the line first, taking Nessie to sit on a log next to Seth and Leah. Nessie jumped from my shoulders to Seth's and he tickled her. Neither of them seemed to notice that all eyes were on them. She jumped from Seth to Billy's lap, saying hi to Charlie and Sue, who were sitting next to him at the head of the makeshift circle. Bella and Edward crossed next, going to greet Charlie and Sue, also. Alice was not so quiet when she crossed the invisible line. After she had made sure all the food looked perfect, she had turned around and spotted Charlie. "Charlie!" she squealed, barely keeping up a human pace as she ran over to him, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. The wolves tensed as the small vampire ran at the human, but then were suddenly calm. Jasper followed her slowly, changing the atmosphere as he passed everyone. Blondie and Emmett walked after him, arm in arm, looking like the Prom King and Queen. I saw some of the young wolves' mouths drop open at her. They closed them and looked away quickly when Emmett made eye contact with them. It seemed like the vampires were setting up camp by Billy, Charlie and Sue, so the area around them casually was emptied, the werewolves readjusted themselves on the other logs. Esme had disappeared soon after getting to the top of the cliff. She came back into view now on the arm of Carlisle.

Carlisle was looking at Sam and Emily as he spoke, but he spoke to the whole gathering. "On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you all so much for having us here tonight. I hope tonight is the first of many pleasant evenings shared in each other's company."

Some of the wolves snorted. "Yeah, if Emily cracks that pussy whip, again." My future brother-in-law, ladies and gentlemen. What an asshole. At least he had whispered it. Sam growled quietly and they shut up. Carlisle pretended that nothing had happened.

"As you know, Jacob is an invaluable part of our family," there were snickers, "and we are so happy that _both_ of his families could come together tonight." Now he addressed the group. "I just wanted to introduce everyone to those of you who may not know us. My wife, Esme." He pointed as he called the names. "Our son, Emmett, and our daughter, Rosalie. Our son, Jasper, and our daughter, Alice." I heard some murmurs after that, mostly from Emily, Kim, and Rachel, who were leaning to see her better. She seemed just as thrilled with the extra attention as I had imagined. Jasper smiled at her. "Our son, Edward, our daughter, Bella—who is also Chief Swan's daughter—and their daughter, Renesmee." Carlisle went to shake Sam's hand.

Seth slapped his legs, getting to his feet. "Hope you guys brought enough, I'm starving."

"_Seth_," his mother scolded.

"What? I _am_. Who put Embry in charge of the grill, anyway? That was just stupid." Only the new wolves didn't laugh. They didn't know Embry well enough to know that he was a bottomless pit.

As Seth filled up one of the most expensive-looking disposable plates I had ever seen, stomachs could be heard growling all around the fire. "C'mon, Leah." I looked over at her. "We better get to the food before their stomachs become bigger than their pride." She laughed when she heard some of their growls, but she knew I was right, so she got up. Charlie and Sue went with her and I pushed Billy, with Nessie still on his lap. "Did Quil come to get you earlier, old man?"

He nodded. "He seems pretty excited about the stories, tonight. He went to pick up Claire and Old Quil. I hope there's enough food left for him by the time he gets back."

"Aw, I'm sure my Alpha would've saved me something." Quil came into the clearing, taking on most of his grandfather's weight, Claire on his back.

"Don't bet on it." I said hi to Old Quil while Claire ran up and hugged Nessie.

"Nessie would have, huh, Nessie?" He picked her up in a hug and she nodded earnestly. He laughed.

Seth walked over and handed him three empty plates. "Hey, thanks, man." He pointed with his chin at the other wolves, most of them were still sitting, sulking. I wonder if Sam had ordered them to be here. "Why aren't they eating?"

Seth laughed, glancing over his shoulder before turning back to us. "I think they're waiting to see if it's poisoned, laced with venom, or something. Idiots." We laughed and Quil took Claire and his grandpa to get food.

Nessie and I went back and sat next to her parents. "Food's good, Bells."

She smiled. "Not like you guys wouldn't have eaten cardboard if that's all there was."

I shrugged one shoulder. "True." She laughed. "Did Nessie tell you about her day?" Nessie nodded.

I saw Rachel and Kim dragging Paul and Jared to the food after seeing what Emily had on her plate. I laughed. The younger wolves still hadn't moved. The kid Nessie and I had beaten at poker was still glaring at me. Or was he glaring at her?

Beside Bella, Edward nearly choked on nothing but air. "Jacob," he growled my name. What? I looked around stupidly. What did I do? "You taught my daughter poker."

"Oh, yeah." It was Charlie that spoke up, proudly. "You should have seen her, Edward. The kid's a natural. I mean, I knew she was smart, but she figured out the odds of Jake winning only a minute after being taught how to play. Then she shoved it in some kid's face when he didn't believe her." Nessie ducked her head, hiding her smile with her hair and blushing.

"Renesmee," Bella scolded. "Shoved it in some kid's face?"

"Aw, Bells, it wasn't like that. He was being a jerk." And he almost told Charlie what you guys are, I added for Edward. Emily called to Nessie, and she ran off to sit with her, Rachel, and Kim.

"He's a wol--" Edward cut off the sentence, when he remembered about Charlie. "He's here?"

I nodded, chewing on some fried chicken. This stuff really was good. I replayed the entire scene in my head for him. His eyes widened at the end.

"Nessie kicked some kid's ass?" Emmett was curious. Jasper and Carlisle were, too. "Who?" He looked around, as if expecting the guy to stand up and wave his arms.

I lowered my voice, hoping it was enough. "See the kid in the middle of that group of guys on the log next to Sam's?" They nodded, taking him in.

"He's young," Jasper said.

"The youngest," I agreed. "Anyway, we were playing Texas hold-em and I was betting high, so a lot of the other guys had folded, but this kid keeps matching me. So, I could tell Nessie was getting tired, and I figured I might as well go all out on my last hand."

"How much was in the pot?" Emmett was really into this, now.

"Aw, we weren't playing for money, we were playing for patrol shifts." He rolled his eyes. Now he was less interested. "Anyway, Nessie had stopped reading, so I asked her if she thought I was gonna win. She didn't know the rules or how the deck of cards is sorted, so I told her. Then she asks me which hands beat which hands so I tell her. Then, a second later, she's telling me the odds I'll win. Which, I guess, is your doing?" Jasper nodded, obviously pleased with himself. "So this kid doesn't believe a four-year-old" Charlie grimaced "could figure all that out and, I don't know, thinks she's lying or something. So he raises me and Nessie gets so pissed off that she throws my cards down_ and _tells him what hand he was holding. He was pissed!" Carlisle shook his head, but he was smiling. Jasper and Emmett were laughing, sneaking glances at the kid. Edward had no expression on his face, which I took as his usual anger. "So, what, you're allowed to be a cocky ass all the time, but your daughter's not?" Charlie nearly spit out his beer and Emmett and Jasper laughed even harder.

"_Actually_, Jacob, I was thinking about how much Nessie seemed to be speaking today."

"Oh, I know. You should have seen her, guys." Even the girls were listening to the conversation, now. "She went on and on about some book to Sue, and she was talking about her outfit with the girls, and then she was talking to that kid. When it was just Seth and I, though, she didn't." He looked over at her with the other imprints. "I guess she's talking now, too." He nodded, still in his thoughts.

Esme pulled out a trash bag from nowhere and I helped her by getting the trash from the wolves so she wouldn't have to. The trays were empty. We threw them out, too. Nessie followed me back to her family, sharing her last conversation with her mom and aunts. My dad cleared his throat. Oh, shit, the stories.

"Nessie..." She looked over at me. "Come sit by me." She came and sat on my lap. "The stories are gonna start," I whispered into her ponytail, kissing her on the back of her head.

First was the story of the spirit warriors and Taha Aki's change into a wolf. I heard Bella sigh nostalgically as Billy finished. Sue leaned in to Charlie and told him she was tired. He looked dazed, probably still in the story. The way everybody gets when they hear the stories and then come back to reality and realize that everything they heard was true. They got up, saying a general goodbye to the group, and started down the hill. I got up off the ground and sat in Charlie's seat, next to Bella on one of the logs. She looked at me, smiling lopsidedly. "I love these stories."

"I know you do, Bells."

She rested her head on the side of my arm and Nessie turned to her. "Aren't they wonderful, Renesmee?"

She nodded, grinning. "Because they're real, and they're about Jacob." They sighed together. Softies, the both of them. I kissed Bella on the forehead before she leaned away and then Nessie on the top of her head. I shifted my body to face Old Quil a little more as he began to tell the story of the third wife.

I felt everyone tense a little as the story got underway. When Billy pulled out the pouch with the ashes, I felt Nessie shrink into me. Emmett whispered, "That's fucked up," under his breath. Jasper had an odd smile on his face. I wonder if he had killed so many vampires that the thought of a legend being made about just one was almost laughable to him. Or I wonder if he was remembering his first vampire kill, maybe you always remember the first, we were just passing our memory down.

At first, the mention of the her family seemed to enliven Nessie. Hearing about the pact made her happy, she didn't know that it had ever been broken, had been replaced...because of her. What she did understand was that her family was the cause of wolves in the first place. I felt her sink back, again, her head lowered when Old Quil said, "burden" and again when he said "sacrifice." There was an awkward silence when the stories ended.

"Billy, Quil, thank you so much for sharing your stories with me and my family." Carlisle, ever the peacemaker, wanted to end the uncomfortable silence that had just filled the air. "I wonder if I may be so indulgent as to share with you my story?" Nessie's head shot up at that. I hadn't expected this. I was curious as hell. Jasper had told me his story a couple of months ago. Nessie had fallen asleep while we were watching TV with him. One of his scars had caught my eye and it reminded me of those nights in the clearing before the newborn attack. I asked him how he knew so much about how to fight them and he had told me everything. I was grateful Nessie was asleep, I think I had gotten the full unedited version. I had never looked at him the same way. But I had never heard Carlisle's full story, neither had Nessie. Billy looked taken aback, but he smiled, sweeping one of his arms in invitation.

"I must first begin by telling you that I was born in London in the 1640's..." A half-hour later, Carlisle had finished, ending his story when he got to America. I figured he didn't want to talk about changing people. The part about him living with the Volturi was trippy. I hadn't known that, it made the stand-off with them a few months ago a little bit intenser, if that was even possible. Most of the wolves seemed genuinely impressed. I don't think any of them had any idea how old he was or what kind of life he had lived. I think they respected the fact that he had tried to kill himself before he could even think about killing another. They respected that he had no other choice _but_ his lifestyle, murder was _not_ an option. Or maybe that was just what _I _had gotten out of it and I was projecting it onto everybody else. It was obvious why the rest of his children had chosen his lifestyle, how could you go out and murder after hearing _that_? How could you disappoint your father when he was _this_ man? I even felt a little bad about killing _vampires_ now. In the winter, I would have done anything to kill just one of those Volturi bastards. I was happy it ended the way it had, but if there was no chance of retaliation, I would have killed every last one of those smug assholes. Now, I wasn't so sure. Not if I had to come back and look at Carlisle's face after I did it. They did threaten Nessie, though. No, if they ever threatened her again, I'd still kill them. Could I kill for any other reason, though, except to protect Nessie and my family. I knew that Carlisle would do that much.

I saw Jasper shoot a concerned look at Edward. He did look awful. I couldn't tell what was on his face, he'd heard our thoughts and carefully rearranged its shape. Had it been shame? I wonder why.

I looked down at Nessie. She was still staring at her grandfather in awe. "He's amazing, huh, Nessie?" She just nodded, still dazed.

"Nessie!" Alice called out, for no other reason but that she was excited. "It's time!" I looked at her questioningly when she got up, but she was already halfway down the hill with her aunt. Alice and Nessie reappeared a minute later, all need to hide their speed gone now that Charlie had left. They were carrying the Louis Vuitton luggage that Alice had insisted Nessie needed, even though we never went anywhere. I wonder why.

Nessie was blushing and she looked nervous. Alice looked exuberant. "Seth," she called, "can you help us?" He nodded, grinning, obviously in on the joke.

"Do you want me to phase?" Everyone's ears perked up. Wait, what? What was going on?

"Seth, is this really necessary?" Sam eyed the imprints. Sam was no longer Seth's Alpha and his command not to phase in front of the imprints could not bind him. "I mean, they haven't even seen _their_ wolves before." He said the last part in a whisper.

"You guys mind?" Jared and Paul shook their heads. I wonder if it was because they wanted to see the girls' reactions, just like I had wanted to see Bella's reaction a year ago. Or if they had been trying to convince Sam to take off the injunction and they figured this demonstration might change his mind. Or if they just trusted Seth because he's always been the most passive wolf. I don't know. If it were me, I wouldn't want Nessie to have seen another wolf before she saw me. Seth took off into the woods and came back walking awkwardly sideways. I heard Rachel and Kim gasp. They looked at their wolves in wonder, they grinned back at them. Then, Rachel looked at me, a different kind of awe in her eye. The awe of an older sister who just realized their younger brother can do something amazing. I just shrugged.

As if to further illustrate the complexity of sibling relationships, Leah growled at her brother. "Turn around and walk normally, you look like an idiot."

"He's trying to keep it a surprise until I tell you about it." Alice explained. "I actually got this idea a couple of months ago when Emmett made fun of Jake's 'gay leather anklet.'" Emmett and Jasper laughed, the wolves didn't. It was as much a part of the standard uniform as our fur. "A few weeks later, I had come up with the perfect solution. I mentioned it to Seth, and he liked it, so he's been helping me with it. Nessie wanted it to be a secret for you, Jake." I didn't move. I had a horrible feeling that I know where all of this is going. Edward tried to contain a laugh next to me. "And then, when I found out about 4th of July, I knew I had to get them ready. So, without further ado, I present to you...the Wolf Pack. Get it? I couldn't help myself."

Seth turned around. On his left hind leg was a large, black, rectangular rubber box. There was silence for a beat and a half. None of us really knew how to respond to it. Alice filled it. She walked over to Seth and started talking like a lady on those home shopping channels. I figured she'd watched enough of it to get them down perfectly. "The base of the bag is completely made of rubber. It took me a long time to figure out how to get them completely waterproof and still look okay when you weren't wolves. There's a pocket, here" she pointed to the right side of the bag "for your change of clothes." She opened it enough for us to see the cut-offs Seth had been wearing, Seth maneuvered his body to help her. "Can I take it off, Seth?" He nodded. She pulled it down and off his leg. There were two crisscrossing three-inch wide black elastic straps on the back that had been holding it in place. She pulled at them and let go, they snapped back. "Seth told me that the leather strap digs into your leg once you've shifted, so I came up with the idea of elastic straps. They'll fit on your human thigh and then stretch to fit on your hind leg comfortably." She turned it back around to the front. "You can go phase back, now, Seth." She opened the side of the bag and Nessie pulled out his pants. He took them in his mouth and Alice kept talking as he walked away. "Now, the main point of this is to keep your change of clothes clean and attached to you while you run. But, you obviously couldn't walk with this bag around your thigh all the time. So..." She pulled at a piece of the rubber that ran the length of the left side on the front of the bag. We heard claps unsnapping. "It's two bags in one. This flap is rubber on one side and it wraps around to the front when you're a wolf. There are three rubber edges on the other top, bottom, and non-flap sides of the front to keep water from going in when the flap's clasped into place." A long, black, adjustable shoulder strap fell out from between the flap and the bag when she opened it. She began to wrap the flap the other way. "When you're human, the flap goes around the back and covers the elastic. Now, the front and back of the bag both look like they're made out of nylon. The sides and the top and bottom of the bag are rubber, and it makes the three rubber edges on the front and back look like matching accents." She held up the finished product. It looked like a normal nylon messenger bag. It had a lot of rubber on it, but other than that, it looked completely normal. The rubber actually made it look more stylish than a lot of messenger bags I had ever seen. Manlier, too. At least, that was what I was telling myself. Edward chuckled.

"The side pocket for your clothes is covered when it's the nylon bag and there are two larger zippered pockets that make up the rest of it. If you always have an extra pair of clothes in there, it will just look like padding for a laptop, or something. I've given you all two different pockets. The first has a smaller pocket inside for loose things. The second one is just a basic one. I know most of you are still in school, so you can use it as a backpack, if you want." Seth was back and she handed his bag back to him. He put the adjustable strap over his head, it rested on his shoulder while the bag rested on the opposite hip. He was grinning at our blank, gawking faces. Alice was still oblivious. "You want to change it back for them?" He took the bag off, unsnapped the flap in the back from under the side rubber "accent," wrapped it around to the front, slid it under _those_ rubber flaps, shoving the shoulder strap underneath it before snapping it closed. He put it on his leg, proving that it would stay there when he wasn't phased. He was a ham, just as into this as Alice was. He pulled it back off and did the process in reverse, putting it back on over one shoulder. "Oh, and I had Nessie wash them a dozen times after I made them, trying to get the smell off. If it still smells, you can wash them."

Everyone was still speechless as Seth began passing them out. He was the only one who knew which bag belonged to which guy. Alice had color-coordinated each bag with each wolf's fur. Nessie came over and handed me a maroon-colored one. "Sorry, Jake," Alice said, "that was the closest I could get." I just nodded, it matched the trunks she had had me wear. "Yours is deeper because it has an extra side zipper." She looked around and found Leah. "Leah, yours is smaller and squared, but it's deeper, too."

I started opening zippers. The extra hidden one on the side held two passports, a driver's license, and more cash than I had ever seen in my entire life. There was also a large envelope. I looked at Bella and Edward. We smiled sadly at each other. We didn't speak. I continued to open zippers. When I got to the last big one, there was something in there, already. It was a tiny replica of my bag, down to the flap and the elastic bands. I took it up and held it up for Nessie to see. "What's this?" She looked down, shyly. "Is this for you?" She nodded, still looking at the ground. "It's _perfect_. Now we can match." She finally looked up at me, grinning. "Put it on, I want to see." She did. I thought of the flap. "You can change yours to run, too?" She nodded and showed me. Instead of putting the bands on her leg, she slipped her torso between them and the bag, they fell across her chest. It looked like a rubber backpack. "Cool." She took it off and switched it back, putting it on that way. "Did Emily, Rachel, Kim and Claire get bags?" She nodded. "Can theirs do what yours can?" She grinned slyly and shook her head. I grinned back.

The other wolves were still silent as they opened the pockets, reversed the flap, and sniffed the nylon. I wondered if they felt the way I had those few days of hell before Nessie was born. When the Cullens' overwhelming hospitality made me feel uncomfortable in my inability to feel the hatred I knew I was supposed to feel. It was hard not to like them, especially when their giving nature was so genuine. Alice hadn't made these bags to show off or because she pitied the poor Native kids. And she could have just made one for her niece and the guy her niece was always hanging around. But, instead, she chose to make one for every wolf, even those who didn't like her and her family. And if they had a girl like Nessie in their life, she was getting one, too. You couldn't help but like her for it. It wasn't a wolf who spoke first. It was Emily, who was modeling her all-black bag for Sam the same way Nessie was modeling hers in front of me. "_Alice_," she breathed, slowly and in awe.

* * *

_(Some Quileute characters were, again, approximations)_

*: _Bad weather today._

**: _Good weather today._

_Author's Note_: Sorry about the lame Quileute quotes. I'm working with only a few phrases and I'm running out of easy ways to test Renesmee about her Quileute fluency. Also, I had a very hard time describing the "Wolf Pack" in detail whilst maintaining some semblance of honest speech from Alice. So, my wonderful husband was good enough to draw it for me. A link will be posted on my profile as soon as I can scan and put it on Flickr.


	3. Book One: Part Three

_Author's Note: _Sorry, I'm updating later than I thought I would. I had sort of a writer's block with this one. It was much more filler than I imagined for a while, so it was hard to get going. Then it turned into something else altogether. Oh well, I was pleasantly surprised with the way it came out. Sorry, it's so short. I had more written, but I had to leave it at its logical conclusion. Hopefully, you'll understand when you finish it. The good news is, I have a head start on Part Four and it should be jam-packed full of story. So, hopefully, that one will come out much sooner than next Friday.

Thank you for all your reviews. I am especially grateful for_ Fugazi_'s post. I went back and changed the "weary," but I could only find one. Hopefully, I didn't miss the other one. I'm glad you're all enjoying it.

I must admit I am enjoying this whole authorship deal and all the warm and fuzzies that come with it. So far I have had 144 visitors from 24 countries. That blows my mind. I'm sure others have gotten more, but it far exceeds my expectations.

_Stephenie Meyer: _I know you think Edward's the perfect man, but then why, oh why, did you make such a contender in Jacob? Thank you for sharing your men. They are all yours, males and females alike, I claim nothing but that I love them.

* * *

***  
_**I wish I was special.  
You're so fucking special.**_

_**...What the hell am I doing here?  
I don't belong here.  
**_

--Radiohead  
_Creep  
_***

Summer was almost over. Seth, Embry and Quil had over a month before school started up in La Push, I still had three and a half weeks until I started my senior year in Hanover. We were moving tomorrow, though, and it was still early August. Edward and Bella were going on a second honeymoon for their anniversary and wanted to get in a few weeks before Nessie and Bella's birthdays. They didn't start Dartmouth until the end of September, so they'd have a few weeks after they got back to get readjusted. They'd spend a night getting Nessie adjusted to the new house and then leave the following day. I was helping Bella get the books off the top shelf of the bookshelves in the living room of their cottage so she could pack them up when Alice came storming in, waving a bra around in her hand. "Bella Cullen. What is _this_?" If it were still possible, Bella would be blushing. She rushed over and tried to take it out of Alice's hand, Alice was too fast for her. "Is this your bra, Bella?" Bella lunged for it again, still too slow. Her newborn abilities were wearing off. "What the hell was it doing in a box with Edward's CDs?"

I was torn between being embarrassed, having tried to picture Bella in bras too many times in the past and not expecting this black lacy one, and wanting to laugh at the scene. For the past few days this had become a common occurrence. Esme and Alice had left for a few days last week to set up the house and, during that time, Bella had taken to hiding clothes she didn't want to leave behind in other boxes, hoping her sister-in-law wouldn't find it. Since Alice had come back and found out what Bella had done, she'd been hunting them down. "Give it to me, Alice."

"Bella, we talked about this. _ Leave _this stuff. I have a whole wardrobe waiting for you, _two_ actually. You don't _need_ this."

"But I _like _this one." _Now_ I was embarrassed. Not only could I not picture Bella Swan _wearing _this bra, but I could not picture Bella Swan _liking _to wear this bra. It was too much for my teenage brain to handle.

"Then don't _think_ about it, Jacob." Goddamn mind-reader. Bella looked over and met my eye. We both looked away. "Leave her alone, Alice. If she wants to keep it, she can."

But Alice wasn't paying attention to him. "What do you mean you like it? How many times have you worn it before?"

"What? Oh, um, once. Yeah, once. Yeah, because I remember when I wore it. Uh huh, definitely just the once." I shook my head, Bella still sucked at lying.

"Bella--" Edward ripped the bra from Alice's hand, but he didn't look too comfortable holding it. Christ, man, she's your _wife_. He shot me a look. Whatever. "_Ed_ward..." But she knew she wouldn't win with him, so she turned back to Bella and pointed a finger at her. "If you pack that, Bella, so help me, I _will_ find it." She turned around and had taken a couple of steps to the door when she remembered something. She faced me, the normal, excited expression on her face. Man, how can Jasper keep up with her instantly changing emotions, like this? "Jake, I almost forgot, what kind of shampoo do you use?"

Huh? "I don't know, the one that's in the shower."

She gaped at me. Bella and Edward laughed. "You don't _know_?" I shook my head. "What about the face soap you use?"

"I just use whatever bar's in the shower, too."

"You use _bar_ soap on your _face_?" Now she was back to the same face she had on with Bella.

"Yeah. It's not like I can get a pimple or anything. Just be happy I shower, okay? For months last summer I used rivers and springs to get clean and it worked just fine." Bella looked guiltily at the floor for a second and I mentally kicked myself for bringing that up.

Alice didn't say anything, just turned on her heel and stormed out exactly the same way she had stormed in. As she was walking toward the main house we heard her grumbling. Bella took her bra from Edward and walked back to their bedroom. I just turned back to the bookshelves and took more off the shelf. Bella came back into the room. "What kills me is that I can't tell how she's doing it. Is she sniffing them out of their boxes or can she _see_ that I'll do it? Maybe I'll have Nessie hide some stuff, see how that works out. I mean, I saw the tag on that bra when she bought it for me. It was a $200 bra, I'm not just going to wear it once or twice and then throw it out. I still have clothes in the closet that I haven't worn at all and I'm not just _leaving_ them here. I mean, I know we'll be back for Christmas, but it doesn't make any sense to leave brand-new clothes behind, even if there _are _brand-new clothes waiting for me there." She was rambling. So, she was either embarrassed, frustrated, or upset. Maybe all three, considering. Edward looked at me and then back at Bella. He still couldn't figure her out half the time.

Edward went to the main house and we went back to packing the books. After I took them off the shelf for her, it took her no time at all to box them up. It always amazed me to see her do stuff like that, I still wasn't used to it. "Freaky Bella." She laughed. Nessie walked in then, her clothes were covered in grease stains. They made me smile, _she_ made me smile. She smiled back at me. During the past couple of weeks I had fixed a couple of cars and bikes from people on the Rez to earn some money and Nessie had come by to watch a couple of times. She was _way_ more into it than Bella had ever been. I have a feeling that Bella had always been afraid of breaking things or of getting in my way, either way, she had never even tried to help me. But Nessie, Nessie was curious in the garage. She wanted to know why I was doing everything I was doing and how everything worked together. She was a good helper, too, she had the small hands to get into places I couldn't and the strength to do the work. When she had come home, looking the way she did now, Blondie had been jealous that the _mutt_ got to teach her about cars. After that, whenever she was working on the cars, Nessie was in there with her. They had just finished tuning up all the cars and Edward and Emmett were now helping the guys who had come to take them to be shipped. She jumped into my arms and showed me and Bella everything she had done to each car. When she was done, Bella told her to go take as shower. We laughed when we saw each other's face, we both had a Nessie-sized palm print on our cheeks. We were still laughing as we tried to wipe them off each other when Nessie came back.

"You ready to go to the Clearwater's for dinner?" She nodded. I picked up my bag and handed Nessie hers. I made it a point to wear it all the time, even when I knew I wasn't phasing. It made me feel better knowing that I had everything I needed to keep Nessie safe if we needed to run. She put hers on as a backpack and I went into the woods, putting my clothes in my bag, and phased. She ran beside me. I couldn't go at my full speed, but she liked running herself, so I didn't mind. She didn't just run, either. She jumped over large overgrowth and roots, bouncing off trunks as she went, launching herself forward. It was fun to watch. I had seen vampires run, but they always ran in a straight line. Nessie was still a kid and, even thought she was big enough now that she didn't need to jump over a lot of the larger stuff on the ground, anymore, she liked it. She wasn't just running, trying to gain speed and momentum like the rest of us, she was playing. Her curls bounced around her as she giggled. I tried to play with her, too. Lightly snapping at her when she bounded over my head. That made her giggle even more. Soon, she was going out of her way to fly over my head. As I watched her make her way through these familiar woods, my thoughts wandered to tomorrow and everything that had led up to it.

I couldn't believe how fast the moving process had gone. We had only started packing a few days ago, when Alice and Esme had come back. Except for a few loads of laundry, I was completely ready to go. The cars had been taken care of and there were only a few odds-and-ends that would be packed up by the time I dropped Nessie back off tonight. The family wasn't bringing much. The few pieces of furniture that Esme wanted to keep, along with most of the family's books and art, had already been set-up last week. The rest of the few boxes they had and the small amount of clothing Alice was letting them take with them were going on the private plane Carlisle had rented for us, tomorrow. I was bringing one box of tools, one box of CDs and DVDs, and Nessie's luggage with the entirety of my wardrobe. I didn't even need her entire luggage set, Bella was just using the extra space for herself, hoping Alice wouldn't look through my stuff.

When we got to the Clearwater's, Sam and Emily were there, already. I know Claire was in town, but I didn't see her or Quil. I could hear Leah upstairs, she still avoided Sam and Emily as much as possible. My sister's and Sue's voices were coming from the kitchen and Charlie, Billy, Sam, and Emily were all talking in the living room. Seth answered the door for us and swept Nessie into a hug, greeting me over her head.

"Grandpa!" As soon as we got through the door, Nessie jumped off from Seth's arms and ran to hug Charlie. I said hi to everyone.

"Hey, kiddo. You excited about tomorrow?" She nodded.

She reached to touch his face and then remembered. "Yes! Jacob and I are both already packed." He glared at me over her head. She said hi to Billy next, giving him a hug, too. Then she turned around and ran to Emily. "Hi, Emily! Hi, Sam! Are you having dinner with us?" They smiled and nodded. "I asked Momma to take me to say goodbye to you tomorrow because I didn't think I would see you before we left."

"You and your mom should still come by tomorrow, if you have time. I want to say goodbye to her, too." Nessie smiled.

"Nessie, you want to come with me to say hi to Rachel and Sue?" She nodded and ran into the kitchen ahead of me. Seth followed us. She was already hugging Rachel when we got there. We said hi to Sue and I kissed Rachel on the cheek.

"Smells good, guys. Thanks for doing this, Sue."

"No problem, Jake. It was your dad's idea. I just saved him from having to order pizzas, I figured your last meal at home should be a home-cooked one."

We heard Quil coming with Claire, they were singing some Disney song. I made a mental note to tease him about it, later. Thankfully, Nessie had never been into a lot of normal kid's stuff. In fact, a few months ago she had seen _The Little Mermaid_ and had criticized the inaccuracies between it and the Hans Christian Andersen version. She shut it off half-way through, disappointed. Alice had been disappointed, too. She had liked the movie and wanted to finish it. Nessie had turned it back on, rolling her eyes at her aunt. I don't like Disney movies any more than the next teenage guy, but, I have to admit, I don't think the original story would have sold to most little kids and their families. It's actually kinda creepy. She looked up at me, smiling. "Quil and Claire are here!"

"I know, Nessie, you wanna go say hi?" She nodded. She had gotten better about playing with Claire, even though she was still a little disappointed that they were so unalike. I think she just likes finally being older than somebody.

Quil had stopped and was pointing out stars in the clearing sky to Claire. "Actually, it will take them a while to get here, I'm going to go say hi to Leah upstairs, first."

I followed her out to the front room, Seth stayed in the kitchen to help. He wasn't talking very much, that was weird for him. I sat down on the couch next to Charlie and ignored the looks he kept shooting me. As the day of the move got nearer, he had become colder towards me. Nessie ran down the stairs, barely holding her speed back in front of Charlie, and went straight to the door. "Claire! Quil!" She disappeared outside for a few minutes and came back holding Claire's hand. Claire was the only one in this supernatural world that Edward had told Nessie not to share her gift with. She didn't know Quil was a wolf, either. She was too young and kids at that age don't really think before they speak. The secret wasn't very safe with her, even if it was likely no one would believe her. Quil came in holding Claire's chocolate brown imprint's bag and said hi to everyone, the girls went to sit next to Emily.

The food was ready twenty minutes later and we ate outside. Leah ate inside. I felt bad. I wanted to see her before I left. I understood, though. I noticed Charlie taking us all in. Nessie was sitting on my lap, not eating, and I had an arm around her middle as she leaned back into my chest. Claire was on Quil's lap, laughing as she fed him, getting food all over the place. He didn't complain, he was laughing with the rest of us. Paul had an arm around Rachel's shoulder and would kiss her on the neck every few bites. Sam had a hand on Emily's knee and his eyes never left her face as she spoke to her aunt. Although he would glare at Paul whenever he'd kiss my sister, his eyes stopped on Quil and Claire more than the others. He must have seen something familiar there. I felt like confirming his suspicions.

Paul helped Rachel bring out the two cakes she had baked. He kept saying that it was the greatest cake he ever had. Seth rolled his eyes at him. It never ceased to amaze us that Paul had turned into a different person as soon as he imprinted. He was still an ass, and he proved it all the time, but the old Paul would have never complimented someone.

After we ate dessert, we all sat around, talking. I realized, again, how silent Seth had been. There had to be something up with him. I felt bad for not saying anything before. "You okay, Seth?" He nodded, but even without speaking he was a worse liar than Bella. He had become more distant as we got closer to moving, too. Like Charlie. Could he be sad that I was leaving? We _had _become a lot closer since he joined my pack. In fact, since Quil had imprinted and as Embry was always in a constant state of being grounded, the only time I still hung out with my two best friends was whenever one of us had patrols and the others weren't busy. Then we'd run them together. Still, none of the wolves really liked hanging out at the Cullens like Seth did. And, if I was being honest, I spent more time there than I spent on the Rez. Embry came by more than Quil and Leah, because he couldn't resist the endless supply of food that Esme always forced on him when he was there, but it still wasn't very often. So, aside from the Cullens, Seth was who I spent most of my time with. But did Seth spend all his time with me? I mean, I know that he occasionally went over to Emily's, hanging out with her and Sam and all the guys in the other pack when they were there. In fact, he was the only wolf in my pack who knew any of the new wolves. But all of us had lost most of our school friends when we started phasing, so I knew that he didn't hang out with them, anymore, and I doubt he was spending his time with his sister. Could I really be his best friend? It made sense. I mean, I know that he was going to be the guy I missed the most starting tomorrow.

I had already had a goodbye run with Quil and Embry a few days ago and I felt bad that I hadn't invited Seth. "Hey, Seth, what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing, why?"

"I was just wondering, since it's my last patrol and everything, you mind coming with me?"

"You sure you want _me _to?"

I didn't like the way he stressed the "me" part. Did he honestly think that I didn't like spending time with him? "Yeah I want you to, that's why I asked you." After that, Seth was livelier. He started asking me, Quil, and Sam about junior year, the teachers we had had, the books we had had to read. Claire fell asleep an hour or so after the sun set and we had all gone back inside. Quil held her in his arms, smiling as he stroked her cheek. I looked around, thinking about all the people I was leaving. Rachel had Nessie on her lap, playing with her curls, and they were both talking to Emily. Charlie was talking to Paul about the chances of a Mariners post-season while my dad and Sue were talking about the last council meeting. I thought about Leah, again, who had run upstairs after we had all come back inside. I decided to go look for her. Sam gave me a grateful smile as I got up and walked to the stairs. This whole thing must be so awkward for him...and Emily. I wonder what Sue thought about everything. She seemed to act warm enough towards the both of them, I wonder how long that had taken.

Her door was closed, so I knocked. "C'mon in, Jake." Her room was messy, but there weren't clothes piling up on the floor like in my room, my old room now, I guess. She turned down her music as I came in and sat back down on her bed. There was no other place to sit, so I sat on the foot of it. "What's wrong? Not enjoying your party?"

"I _was_, actually. I just got over having fun down there and thought, who's a downer? So I came up here to talk to you."

"Nice seeing you, too. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

I laughed. "Aw, you know you're gonna miss your Alpha. I know you heard me coming up the stairs and that's the only reason you had enough time to take down that poster you have of me. I'll sign it for you, if you want."

She rolled her eyes. "I would say Edward's cockiness is contagious, but you've always been an ass." I laughed, again. I know it sounds crazy, but I was enjoying myself. This is how we always were together. I was having a nice goodbye with her.

Ten minutes later, I heard Quil whisper from the bottom of the stairs. "We gotta go now, Jake. I gotta put Claire to bed at Emily's."

I got up. Well, this was awkward. If it were anybody else, I'd hug them. But with Leah...I settled for putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for everything, Leah. Take care of my pack. I'll see you in a few months, we'll be coming back for Christmas." She nodded, but didn't say anything. I walked to the door. When I spoke, my back was still to her. "I'll really miss you, Leah." I opened the door and walked downstairs.

Emily hugged me and told me to keep in touch. I noticed that she was using her black imprint's bag. Sam hugged me, too, and I was surprised. He promised to call if there was anything important that I needed to know about. Quil put an arm around my shoulder and patted me on the back, telling me he'd miss me. "It's crazy we won't be graduating together, man." I just nodded. Nessie looked guiltily at the ground. The girl really needed to get over it. Sometimes, she was _way_ too much like Bella. Billy, Sue and Charlie followed the rest of us out. I thanked Sue, again, and reminded Charlie that we would be stopping by his place tomorrow before we left. He nodded, but was still looking at Quil and Claire out of the corner of his eye. Sam, Emily, and Quil said their goodbyes and started walking back to Emily's house. I told Billy I was taking Nessie home and then was going on patrol, so he shouldn't wait up.

"Rach," I called to her and she came to the doorway, Paul was right beside her. "Can you do the two loads of laundry I have sitting on my bedroom floor?" She sighed, but agreed. Nessie hugged Charlie and I picked her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist as I started walking us back to my house, or my dad's house, now. She waited until the Clearwater's door closed before she showed me the beach. "Just for a few minutes, okay? I promised Edward you'd be home soon." I felt her nod against my chest.

I was glad she had suggested it, the beach was one of my favorite places in La Push and I wanted to get a proper goodbye with it. The moon was practically full and there weren't too many clouds in the sky, so the water was bright. I sat on a long beached tree and Nessie turned around in my arms. "It's pretty, huh?" She nodded. We sat for a few minutes in companionable silence. I really was going to miss this place. I wouldn't be gone for much longer than I had when I had gone wolf last summer, but it was different. I was starting a life somewhere else. In a weird way, I felt smug about that. No one else ever gets out of this damn town. I was, though, before I was even out of high school, too. I wonder if this was how Rebecca had felt before she had gone to Hawaii. It was better for me, though, at least I'd be able to come home all the time. I wasn't saying goodbye forever. And at least I wasn't running away. Nessie yawned. "Okay, kid, time to get you home. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." She sighed, but nodded, wrapping herself around me while I stood up. I walked us over to the woods on the edge of the beach and set her down while I went to phase. I converted my bag, put my clothes inside, and put it on my leg before turning into my wolf-self. I walked back towards her and found her studying a bright, white beach rock as she turned it over in her hands. She heard me when I was a couple of yards away and slipped it into the side pocket of her backpack. I wonder why Alice had given her those two side pockets when she had no need for a change of clothes and she wasn't carrying our passports and an obscene amount of money. Nessie had probably wanted an exact replica of mine. She climbed on my back and we were off.

Back at the house, Bella carried her off to tuck her in after Edward and I had kissed her goodnight. As soon as they were up the stairs, Edward had turned to me. "Do you have your bag with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

He went to a drawer near the computer and pulled out a small manila envelope. "Have you opened up the envelope in that pocket?"

"No." I didn't like thinking about that pocket, about what it meant.

"Neither do I, Jacob, but I would rather you know what's in there." I got my bag from where I had left it by the back door. I hadn't converted it back yet, so the pocket's zipper was already exposed. I opened it and pulled out the passports, license, and envelope. I left the cash inside. "Open the envelope." There were five letters inside, some addressed in Bella's handwriting, some in Edward's. Two for me, two for Nessie, and one for Charlie. I swallowed hard. Something tells me that I never, ever want to open these. "You don't," Edward confirmed. I didn't look at him. Instead, I focused on the single folded sheet of paper in with the letters. I unfolded it, it was a list of numbers, some had city names by them. "They're all under your name on the license." I picked that up. Jacob Wolfe. I laughed, in spite myself. Bella. "She thought you'd like that." 27? Could I really pass as ten years older than I am? "Talk to me when you look 17 and are 106. I need Nessie's passport, so I can update the picture. I'll give it back to you tomorrow."

"You can do that yourself?" He nodded. "So, what's this for and what do you mean, they're all under my name?" I waved the paper.

"Eternity is a long time, Jacob. I've made sure my daughter will be provided for without her parents and the rest of her family. Alice has a lot of our money in the stock market." I nodded, remembering my conversation with Emmett. "Over the years, I've placed our earnings in these bank accounts. When the Volturi came and Bella told Nessie her plan for the two of you, I was just as surprised as you were. As much as I don't like thinking about it, at some point it might be our only option for keeping her safe. When they left, I put your name on these accounts as well. Some of these are safety deposit boxes. They're located all around the world, because I don't want to know where you take her. Aro will know what we know. When we get over there, I'll set up a new one in Boston, so you have one close to the new house. Obviously, you have enough cash to live off of for a while, but you may need to stay under the radar for a indefinite period of ti,e and I wanted to insure you access to cash." He handed me a new piece of paper. "I opened up two new accounts the other day and I wanted to give you an updated list." I didn't know what to say. All this was making me uncomfortable, I really didn't want to think about what it would mean for the rest of the family if I was running with Nessie, what it would mean for Bella. "I'll take care of her, you just worry about taking care of my daughter."

***

I didn't get much sleep after I finished my shift with Seth, and I was still tired as I woke from my nap on the plane. I kept my eyes closed and my thoughts turned to last night. We ran over more ground than we normally do. I just wanted to see it all again before I left, to try and embed it into my brain. I tried to memorize the smells in the air, the feeling of the ground under my feet when I ran, the way the moon shone through the trees. I wonder if that birthright feeling had been kicking in. That feeling that had said, "Ephraim Black's son was not born to follow Levi Uley's." This time it was saying, "Ephraim Black's son was not born to leave his land." My wolf gene was sending me mixed signals. Imprinting was warring with territoriality. And Nessie was winning. Then I had thought about Taha Aki when his spirit wife, his imprint, his third wife had sacrificed herself and he had left and had never come back. I knew I was doing the right thing, the only thing _to_ do.

Still, there were other worries. I wondered how I'd be received at my new school, about being the only Native these kids had ever seen. I hadn't really experienced racism before. People in Forks were used to us with La Push and the Makahs and Hohs so close by. It wasn't that it would hurt me or anything, but it _would_ piss me off. I was afraid of controlling my anger or hurting someone with my strength. I hadn't phased out of anger since Bella's wedding and I was proud of my record. I didn't think I would break it, but I didn't really want to test myself.

I was also worried about money. I still didn't like the Cullens paying for everything and I hope they hadn't gone too overboard with my room and everything. Who was paying for all of my stuff, anyway? Carlisle? Edward? I had managed to save up a little during the summer and I planned on saving nearly every cent of my "allowance" that didn't go towards food or gas. I was only going to dip in a little for Nessie's birthday present. Which reminds me, I have to talk to Alice about helping me with that. I wondered how much I would need for Alice to start investing it for me? Maybe I'd have a little more for Nessie's Christmas present. Regardless, I was determined not to live off of the Cullens forever. When the time came, I _would_ support Nessie on my own.

I wonder how long I'd been sleeping. How close we were to Boston? We were flying in to that airport so that the girls could do some shopping and Edward and Carlisle could set up that safety deposit box. I still got a kick out of the fact that Edward couldn't do something like that on his own, he just looked too young. The guy was over a hundred and he still needed his dad to help him do things. Two and half hours later we were pulling up two rented Land Rovers to The Shops at the Prudential Center. I wonder if Alice had looked up this place before we left, or if she could just sniff them out or something. Esme had decided to go with Carlisle and Edward so that she could go to a furniture store that was around the corner from the bank. I had never been shopping with the Cullens before. Hell, I had never been out in public with the Cullens before. We got so many looks, it was odd. They all seemed used to it. Except, Bella. It was odd seeing this new Bella out. I had always thought she was beautiful, but now she looked like a supermodel, just like her sisters-in-law. Only she was getting the most looks because she wasn't on somebody's arm. I knew that I would have been jealous as hell a year ago, but I was just amused now. She was more confidant than I would have thought she would have been, but I don't think she'd been in a crowd this big since her change, she obviously wasn't experienced in dealing with this much attention.

We went into Saks, first, and I felt like an idiot. I looked like the gardener or something who had tagged along with the rich family he worked for to hold their bags. I had worn my best pair of cut-off jeans, but they were still cut-offs, and a plain black tee. The girls working were having a hard time switching back and forth from admiring my muscles, to being disgusted by my outfit. They gave up on both after a while. Alice was in heaven. Soon every sales girl in every department knew her name. They went to the girls' department first, buying everything they could find in Nessie's size and even some things in bigger sizes for her inevitable growth spurts. Bella tried to reel her in, but had no luck with it. After shopping for Nessie, Alice and Rosalie started shopping for themselves and Bella. I stopped trying to add up how much she was spending when she got into five digits. I felt dizzy. Jasper had to keep sending me waves of calm. Then, they started shopping for the guys. Thankfully, Bella was just as uncomfortable as I was, so I had someone to keep me company while Jasper and Emmett looked with their wives.

"Jake!" Alice sang my name in two syllables from the other side of the men's department. She was standing next to Nessie, looking at a display of polo shirts. I grudgingly walked over, Bella followed. "Which colors do you like?" She pointed at the neat stacks.

"Aw, c'mon Alice, don't shop for me."

"Yeah, Alice. Don't you have a closet full of clothes waiting for him, already?" Thanks, Bella.

"Well, we're going to have to get him something to wear if we're going to take him into any more respectable stores today."

"_Rosalie_," Bella scolded her.

I should have been offended, but I wasn't. I had been thinking the same thing a few minutes ago. I sighed. "No, Blondie's right, Bells. I'm going to have to get used to it, anyway, right?" I looked over at Nessie. "Which one do you like?" She looked over the stacks and picked out a black one. Perfect, not too showy.

"Black?" Alice complained. "With his skin tone, Nessie, he could do almost any color." She turned to me. "You're so lucky, Jake, you can pull off all the colors that would just look garish on the rest of us." I twirled my finger in mock celebration. Bella laughed. Alice frowned. "I see you're not going to take this seriously." She spun on her heels, turning her back on us. "Fine. Go wait with Bella, we'll tell you when it's time to go into the dressing rooms."

We walked back to the armchairs they had around the stores for guys like me...and girls like Bella. "I get Alice going crazy here, but why are Emmett and Jasper so in to it?" I pointed with my jaw at the two of them, they were looking at stacks of jeans.

"They've just been around her for half a century. They've learned that it's better to pick things out yourself than to let Alice go crazy. If you tell her you don't like it, she might try to talk you into it, but you have a better chance of not getting it than if you had given her free reign."

"So, I should get back in there?" She shrugged.

"I don't know, I'm the wrong person to ask. She just bought me a poofy, floor-length prom dress and I couldn't do anything about it." I laughed.

Ten minutes later, I was in the dressing room trying on a pair of sweatpants. I don't get it, I _had_ sweatpants. "Alice, why am I getting sweatpants when you want me to throw out all the ones I already have?" She gave me a look, like I had just answered my own question. "Fine, but why are you going to spend..." I looked at the price tag. My mouth dropped open and I felt my throat tighten before I heard my voice coming through it squeak. "_$300? _ _$300?_ For _sweats?_" I felt a wave of calm hit me and I was thankful, the last thing I wanted to do was make a scene in this too-clean, too-bright store.

She sighed, clearly annoyed. "They're not just sweats, Jacob, they're_ cashmere._" She came up to me and tugged on the sleeve of the hoodie I was wearing. "These sleeves are a good length. It is _so_ hard to find things in your size. You're definitely getting it. You're getting the pants, too." I tried to reason with myself. I would stay this size for all eternity, I could wear all these clothes until they were threadbare. There's no way in fuck she's throwing them out until I _let _her throw them out.

"If _you_ don't, man, _I_ will. 300 bucks isn't that much to pay for cashmere." I tried to ignore Emmett as he came up behind me. But then he lifted the hem of the hoodie. "Yeah, that's a nice waistband." I didn't even know what to say. I didn't know if it was freaking me out more that Emmett _cared_ about the waistband on sweats, or that he was pulling up my top up to my chest to see it. I was forced to become very comfortable with nudity, being a member of the pack, but we didn't fucking _undress _each other. I could hear the sales girls giggling as they took in the view of my abs.

It was Jasper that saved me. "Okay, guys. You really need to stop now. He is the very _definition_ of overwhelmed. Go change, Jake." Wow. He really must really feel bad for me, he'd never used my nickname before.

"But, _Jazz_. He still needs shoes."

"Jake, what's your shoe size?" She huffed, but accepted she wasn't going to get me to try anything else on.

Alice left me alone after that. We finished in the store and walked back into the main shopping area. She pointed out a public restroom and handed me a bag. I tried to take it all in stride. "Thanks, shortie." I met up with the group wearing cargo shorts, a screen tee, and new socks and shoes. I had taken off all the tags while warring with myself whether or not to look at the prices. I had been good, I hadn't looked.

Rosalie looked me up and down appraisingly, "You _finally_ look presentable." Why? Because I have a fancy logo splayed across my chest, all over my sneakers? I swallowed hard.

Bella looked at her like she was going to scold her again and I raised my hand to stop her. "Really, Bells, it's okay. It's kinda fitting that the first thing I did after moving with you guys was to shop and change into expensive clothes. Really, I need to get used to it." I bent down and picked up Nessie, who had been quiet, like usual. "I look good?" She nodded, smiling. "Did you pick this stuff out for me?" She nodded, again. I kissed her on the forehead. "They're great. So..." I sighed. It was hard, but this was a new phase in my life. I was doing all this for her and she was worth it. "Where are we going next?" She showed me an image of a view of Boston. "What was that?" She handed me a brochure from the shopping complex and pointed out something called the Skywalk Observatory. "'Boston's only sky-high vantage point for sweeping 360 degree views of Greater Boston and beyond,'" I quoted from the paper. I tried to echo Nessie's enthusiasm. "Sounds cool. Where do we go?"

We definitely had the best view of the city up here. With our eyesight, everything was clear. People didn't look like ants, like I had always heard they did from tall buildings, and we could make out the smallest details of everything. It was pretty cool. I had always wanted to go to Seattle, to the Space Needle, but now I realize it would have been wasted on my old eyes. It was my first time in a big city, too, except for the day that Nessie was born and I had been desperate to imprint. I wasn't really sightseeing that day, though. _This_ was amazing. Nessie was getting a kick out of it, too. It was a big day for her, not only was she finally out of the twenty miles or so she'd always lived within, she was in a huge city. She loved it and I _loved_ that she loved it.

After their brains had perfectly memorized everything they could see, Alice suggested that we go somewhere to get me food. I suspected that she was trying to kiss my ass before shopping some more, but I was so hungry I didn't care. She wanted to take me to some restaurant two stories above the observation floor, but I figured it would be expensive and said no. Seeing as I was going to be the only one eating and she was still trying to appease me, she reluctantly gave in. Jasper and Emmett took me to the food court while the girls went to some more stores. I got a whole pizza.

"I know Rose comes across as..." Emmett started when I had taken my first bite.

"Really, Emmett, it's okay."

"Are you sure about that?" Jasper gave me a knowing look.

"I'm not going to tell you this isn't hard for me. I know that I'm wearing an outfit that's worth more than my car. But, I also know why I'm doing all this. Keeping Nessie safe means playing my part in this whole charade. I already stand out from you guys, at least I blend in a little bit better now. It helps that Bella is as out of her element in all of this as I am. I'll get over it, just like she has." They nodded, understanding. We sat as I finished eating, in companionable silence. The girls came back bagless. I raised my eyebrows at them. "Did the shops_ close_ or something?"

Bella laughed and Nessie giggled. Alice and Blondie rolled their eyes. "No, we took the bags back to the valet. They're putting them in the cars. Now we have our hands free for more. Besides, it would look pretty odd if we were each carrying our weight in bags." She paused and looked at me hesitantly. "So...you need some sunglasses."

I took my tray to the trash, finishing off my soda with a loud slurp. "Whatever you say." Apparently, I needed _three_ pairs of sunglasses. When she saw how willing I had become, we all trekked to another huge department store. I had never even _heard _of Lord & Taylor before. It was just as clean and bright as the last place. This time, Alice focused on my stuff first, not wanting to give me a chance to change my mind. Bella used this time to look at stuff for herself and Nessie _without _Alice. I walked out of the dressing room. "Try not to fondle me this time, Emmett."

"I will if they will." He threw his eyes over to a bunch of sales girls who had conveniently converged right outside the dressing rooms that Jasper, Emmett, and I were walking in and out of. Having figured out that Jasper was with Alice and Emmett was with Rosalie, they had picked me as the prime candidate for their next boyfriend. I wonder how embarrassed they'd be if they knew I could hear their every whisper.

I tried on shoes this time, the ones they actually carried in my size. I flatly refused to even look at loafers. She tried to buy me a necklace and then a ring. That was a little too much for me. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one ring a guy should ever have to wear. We compromised on a leather bracelet which she reasoned was close enough to the leather strap I used to wear around my ankle. Then she pleaded that I let her buy me a watch since I was the only one in the family that couldn't keep better time than the atomic clock in their head. I let her, as long as she promised that it wouldn't have any diamonds in it. She picked one with a big face and a leather strap. I was surprised she found one that fit my wrist. I had to admit, with the bracelet next to it, it didn't look bad.

Edward, Carlisle, and Esme came back as we were finishing up, three hours after we had separated. Edward was rubbing his head. I sat down next to him on one of the couches in the middle of the store. Nessie sat down between us, she looked worriedly at her father. "What's up with you, Edward?"

"Noise." That was weird. I know they had better hearing than me when I wasn't my wolf-self, but the store was pretty quiet. It was early afternoon on a Tuesday, after all. Nobody else had been complaining about it being loud, either. "Not that kind of noise." _Oh._ Huh_. _As much as it sucked that he was uncomfortable, I was thrilled that it probably meant Alice's time was up. "Thank you for your understanding."

"Hey, I said it sucked."

"Yes, you did," he conceded. Nessie climbed up on to his lap and hugged him around the neck. He smiled. "Thanks, sweetheart."

***

Less than twenty minutes later, we were piling in to the three Land Rovers outside the valet stand. It would take a while for our cars to get here, and they wanted to make sure everyone had a car in the mean time. Edward and Bella would be leaving tomorrow, so they wouldn't be needing one, and the three other couples each had their own. I was carless, but it didn't really matter. Where was I going to go? Nessie and I rode in one with her parents, Emmett and Rosalie had their own, and Carlisle and Esme were riding with Alice and Jasper. As soon as we got out of Boston and its suburbs, Edward seemed to be feeling a lot better.

Then I thought of something. I held the semi-dozing Nessie to me tightly and gasped. "Oh, Nessie. I didn't even think. I feel so stupid. Were you okay today?" As much as I had thought about today being her first visit to a big city, I had never once thought about her thirst. She looked at me, confused, Bella had turned in her seat and was looking at me the same way. "Your thirst, were you okay? Were you, Bells?"

"They were fine, Jacob." Nessie nodded up at me. "The family hunted this morning. It was only difficult for Esme and Jasper."

"_Esme_? Really?"

"She doesn't go to school like the rest of us, she's never really around humans. And it wasn't as hard for Jasper as he thought it would be. He's actually very proud of himself. He's been testing himself more since Bella changed by going shopping with Alice in Seattle. We were all okay." I was glad, I really hated to think of Nessie hurting. I remembered what Edward had told me that first day after Bella's change. Like a white-hot branding iron shoved down her throat. "It isn't as bad as that for her. Her thirst is diluted. Humans just," he hesitated, "_smell_ better to her." I could tell he didn't want to say taste. He knows it freaks me out to think of her that way. He knows I blame him for it, for the pain. "They don't make her thirst worse like they do for us." I kissed the top of her head, wishing I could take it away from her.

It took a little over an hour once we got out of the rush hour city traffic to make it to Hanover. It was a short trip from there to the main house. The path to the driveway was even more hidden than it had been for the house in Forks. In fact, it wasn't a road at all, but two wide dirt paths made by tire tracks on either side of a long patch of grass.

The house was huge, the biggest house I had ever seen. I guess it made sense that it would be bigger than the last house, they needed two more rooms. One for me, one for Nessie. The house was old, but completely renovated. The back side, the north side, was, once again, a giant window. Perched atop the house, in the dead center of the main building, was a large glass dome. We walked in across a wide, short porch, that would have been considered more of a deck if it weren't in front of the house. Nessie's legs were hanging on either side of my neck and she was resting her chin on the top of my head. It had been a long day for her, she was tired.

Esme gave us all the grand tour. Only Alice and Carlisle had seen the blueprints and had known what to expect. On the first floor, as we walked through the front door was a squared, large, open space. "This is the living room..." My mouth dropped open. It was amazing. The color scheme was light and natural, of course. There was no carpet, only light wood flooring, the same color as the front deck. A few feet in front of the door, perpendicular to the threshold, was the start of a long, curving staircase. The stairs were made from a cream-colored marble, flanked on both sides with an ornate wrought-iron double-banister. It wound its way up through all four stories of the large house. The glass dome sitting directly above it had the same wrought-iron design as the banister worked around its glass. It created a column of empty space, an atrium that ran through the center of the house, creating two distinct wings on every floor. I live _here?_

Everyone walked ahead of me. I was still in shock. Jasper slapped my back as he walked past me, giving me the collectedness to move forward. On the wall under the staircase was a large flat-screen TV. There was a combination of couches, love seats, and armchairs around it. Directly left of the front door was Edward's new piano. Farther along the wall was a fireplace with a chaise lounge and a couple of armchairs set up in front of it. Esme walked over to it and turned it on with a switch on the wall. "It's chimney-less." I'll never understand why the Cullens like fireplaces, it's not like it warmed them. It was actually kind of disturbing, like a werewolf having a fountain of venom in their house. Did they really get a kick out of sitting and staring at the only thing on earth that could kill them? Edward smirked at my thoughts.

Esme walked to the back wall and opened the back door on the left side of the room. It was a tall door, framed in that black wrought-iron, ending only a yard or so under the second floor. She pushed it to the side and the glass panels to the left of it folded like an accordion. The living room had effectively become a large entrance to the backyard's huge deck. "The kitchen and dining room are through that door," she pointed at a door at the end of the west wall. "I figured it would be better if you didn't have to smell us while you were eating, Jacob." I thanked her as I walked Nessie through the door, behind Bella. None of these stories looked to be standard size and I found myself walking through all the door frames with no thought to bending over, even with Nessie on my shoulders. I bet I could get through them as a wolf. Maybe that was the point. The kitchen was bright and modern. Every appliance was stainless steel, but it went well with the muted green and gray tiling that made up the floor and the backsplash. Esme had kept her large, oval-shaped dining room table. It was sitting under a huge wrought-iron chandelier that, again, matched the pattern on the banisters and dome. The dining room was to the south of the kitchen, on the other side of a small bar countertop. That left the open end of the kitchen facing the back wall. I saw that these glass panels also could be pushed to one side. I opened them to make sure and then walked back into the living room from the deck, which itself was larger than the entirety of my father's house. Emmett looked surprised to see me come in this way, and he peeked through the kitchen door.

On some level my consciousness recognized that everyone was talking, walking around, pointing things out to each other. I was still too overwhelmed to take it all in. Emmett walked over and was bouncing on the furniture, testing them out, as if anything could feel uncomfortable to him. Esme walked out of the kitchen with Bella and stood beside the folded glass panels. "There's one more thing on this floor of the house that I want to show you before you all run off to your rooms." She pushed them to the right even more, and I noticed for the first time that there was a hallway that ran the back of the house. The wall stopped opening at the entrance to the wide corridor. We all walked through it. "Bathroom..." She pointed to the first in a series of three doors in between both ends. Obviously for Nessie's and my benefit, only. "Laundry room..." She was pointing at the second door, then she pointed at the the third. "Basement."

We made our way into a three-story solarium. How had I missed this from the outside? I turned towards the front of the house. Oh. Only the north and east walls were glass. Esme was opening the back wall the same way she had in the living room. Cool. I turned in place and saw that solarium wasn't really the right word for it. It was a _library_. Bookshelves lined the two solid walls and each section had a moving ladder attached to it. Purely for show. There was only one break in the shelving, for a door half-way along the west wall. Esme saw where I was looking and answered my unasked question. "Carlisle's study." I nodded, turning back towards the rest of the room. I was disappointed that it was nighttime, the room was obviously supposed to be seen in the light of day. There were potted plants and flowers everywhere in here, along with patio furniture. A matching marble staircase as the one in the main entry way starting opposite Carlisle's study door, created another atrium of open space as it wound its way towards a similar and smaller dome than the one in the main building.

Nessie hadn't said a word nor had she shown me anything from the time we walked in. She was looking around in awe, just like me. I felt her weight shift every now and then as she changed the direction of her gaze. She didn't tell me where to go, so I just kept roaming. I walked up the stairs. More bookshelves. On this floor, however, the patio furniture had been replaced with upholstered furniture and small end tables. Instead of bookshelves on the smaller south wall, there was another fireplace. Two overstuffed armchairs were in front of it, angled towards each other. I kept walking. "The third floor is yours." Huh? Was she talking to me?

"What, Esme?"

"The room off the third floor. You and Nessie share a study." Study? We have a study? _I _have a study?

I didn't even bother looking around at the furniture, or the dome directly over our heads, I went straight for the door. Nessie didn't stop me. She must have been just as anxious as I was to see the first of our rooms. The darkness outside turned the back wall into a mirror, reflecting the bookshelves on the south wall. Christ! How many books did these people _have?_ Nessie jumped off my shoulders then, and I followed her to the bookshelves that framed yet another fireplace. As if Nessie and I weren't overheated enough. A lot of them were foreign language books and other textbooks. I guess that made sense, for Nessie, at least. But I wasn't popping open one of those books until Nessie decided which country she wanted to visit first. And I sure as hell wasn't going to read...I leaned forward..._Modern Quantum Mechanics_. I let my gaze fall over the top shelves. Wow. Someone had put some car and bike mechanical books in here. Carlisle? Esme? Edward? I'd have to thank them. I mean, on top of everything else I had to thank them for. I turned around and looked over the rest of the room. I was standing in between the fireplace and a long, light gray, over-sized couch. It was so long that I could probably rest my head on one armrest and put my feet up on the other. I wonder if that was _exactly_ how long it was. How the hell did Esme _find_ something this big? Was it custom-made? A few yards behind it, there were two desks, each facing and up against the now-mirrored window. I figured the taller one with the bigger chair was mine. They were each made of glass themselves, and their leather chairs looked bent in odd ways. I bet they were comfortable...and expensive. A large floor lamp, with two small adjustable reading lights attached to it, sat in between them. The only other lighting in the room was a tall lamp on an end table next to the couch and the same wrought-iron light fixtures I had seen throughout the walls in the house. The south corner of the west wall had a stereo system and a bookcase full of CDs. In front of the center of the wall was the widest spiraling staircase I had ever seen. Probably to accommodate my size. It disappeared beyond the ceiling. Nearer to the north corner of the wall was an open doorway, I peeked in. A _kitchen? _I walked through it. Sure enough, at the back of the room, there was a fully-stocked stainless-steel fridge. And to think, all my garage had in it was a paper sack full of warm sodas. Next to it was a long counter with a two-burner range, a microwave, and a toaster oven. To the right of the door frame, next to the window-wall, was a table for two, with enough space on all the sides to fit me. The cupboards above the counter were stocked with food, too. Some of the other ones housed plates in varying sizes, glasses, mugs, and bowls. The drawers under the counter had utensils and the cupboards had pots and pans. There was also a dishwasher. I guess I wouldn't be walking downstairs for midnight snacks. Shaking my head, I walked back into the main room.

Nessie was still looking at the books. "Can you believe this, Nessie?" She turned to me, her face lit up. She grinned at me and shook her head. "You think these stairs lead to our rooms?" She looked at the stairs and blinked. She had been too enthralled in her books to even notice the rest of the room. She looked at the stereo and the desks. I pointed my thumb towards the other door. "Kitchen." I rolled my eyes. "So? You wanna go up the stairs?" She nodded, put her book back, and started climbing.

We walked into a tiny room that only held the top of the staircase. In the corners of north wall and the south wall, directly opposite each other, were four doors. "Which one do we open, first?" Nessie shrugged. The staircase had led us to the north side of the room, so I opened the door on the left side of the wall in front of me. The walls were painted a pale pink and there was a double bed against the west wall. "Looks like your room." She walked in underneath my arm. As curious as I was about my own room, I followed her. She went straight to her bed, running her hand along the pale purple bedspread. It was one of those four-poster beds and Esme and Alice had draped a sheer pink fabric around it, like curtains. "You like it?" She nodded, smiling. "Oh, that's right. You picked everything out, huh?"

A door I hadn't noticed before, on the southwest corner of the room, opened and Bella and Edward came in. Nessie jumped into her mom's arms and showed her something. "Is that your favorite room so far?" Nessie shook her head at her mom's question. "Is this your favorite room?" She nodded, grinning.

There was another door in between the one we had come in through and the door Bella and Edward had walked through. In between them, against the wall, was a chaise lounge and another bookshelf. I liked it. I could see her there, reading, staring out the window. It was perfect for her. She noticed me looking at it and went to inspect it.

"Your mother picked out those books for you." Edward told her. She stroked the spines, smiling. "Some of them are." He answered a question in her mind. I was secretly jealous that he got to hear her all the time and I didn't. He glared at me. Okay, not so secretly. He rolled his eyes.

"Anybody know what's through that door?" I changed the subject, pointing at the only door that was still closed in the room. "The one you guys came from leads to the main staircase?"

"Actually," Bella answered, "it leads to a hallway that leads to the main staircase. I'm pretty sure that the other end of the hallway leads to your room, too. That door," she answered my first question, "probably leads to the bathroom or the closet."

I walked to it and opened it. "Closet," I confirmed. It was the biggest closet I had ever seen. To the right were two long clothes racks with a walkway through the middle that led to a built-in dresser. Its shelves reached the ceiling. Shoes were lined up underneath the racks. There was a door directly across from the doorway I was standing in. "I think the bathroom's through the closet." I turned back around to see the rest of Nessie's bedroom. Across from her bed, a flat-screen was mounted above a dresser. The dresser had a stereo and a DVD player on top of it and there were two shelving units full of CDs and DVDs on either side of it. At the foot of her bed was a wooden chest. On top of it was a new laptop.

"I must have been out of it, I didn't hear you guys coming down the hall."

Bella looked embarrassed. I wondered why. Edward was the one who explained it. "These rooms are all sound-proof." I raised my eyebrows at him. "Well, as sound-proof as you can get with our hearing. The windows are sound-proof glass, too." Why? "It gets...loud...at night. Esme thought that you would sleep better..." _Oh._

Nessie walked past me, into her closet and then into the bathroom. She came back into the room through the small staircase room. "Hey, how'd you get there?" I opened my arms as she jumped into them, showing me how she had walked through the bathroom only to find a door that lead her straight back to our study's stairs. "Cool. I guess we know what the other two doors lead to, now. You wanna come with me to check out my room?" She nodded and I set her back down.

Bella and Edward followed us back to the room with the four doors, to my bedroom door. "Your study's down there?" Bella asked, looking down the stair shaft.

"Yeah." I turned to Edward. "Did you put those mechanical books in there?" He looked confused and shook his head. "Oh. Must have been Carlisle. Or Esme, I guess." He frowned. Weird. You'd think he'd be happy I was actually interested in some of the books. He rearranged his face, but ignored my observation.

Nessie got impatient and opened the door herself. The most noticeable feature of my room was that the north wall _and_ the east wall were glass. It gave me a huge view of the surrounding woods when I used my eyesight to look past my own reflection, and I also could see the library's dome that was level with the bottom half of the window. I walked towards it, ignoring everything else in the room for a moment. From this angle, I could see just how much smaller it was than the one above the main staircase. I could also see all the way down the center of the library to Esme, who was fussing with some of the potted plants.

Seeing her brought back the entire tour of the house, including the feeling of being overwhelmed. It seemed like hours ago that we walked in the front door. Had it? What time was it? As I turned around and saw the rest of my room, my earlier thought came back to me. This time it hit me a little harder. _My _room? This is where I _live?_ What the hell? What was I doing here? Had it really only been earlier today that I had woken up in my cramped little room in my dad's cramped little house? Had it really only been this afternoon that Alice spent thousands of dollars on clothes for me, just so I'd fit in with them in public? I looked down through the dome. It was too much. It was all happening too fast. Why was Edward saying Jasper's name? I turned around to look at Edward, but, instead, my eyes fell on the same new laptop on the edge of _my _bed that Nessie had at the edge of _hers_. I looked back out the window, at the library, solarium, whatever the fuck it was. I thought back to the enormous front room, the marble staircase that led all the way up to the _fourth_ floor of this enormous fucking house, to _my_ floor, to _my _room. I thought back to what lay underneath my feet, to the study _and_ the kitchen. What the _fuck_? Who needs all this _shit_? How _much_ did all of this fucking _cost_? I looked to my right and saw my closet door. Fuck! What the _fuck_ was waiting for me in there? What the _fuck_ was I thinking?

I was vaguely aware of voices behind me, of my name being called. I looked down at my hands. Why am I shaking? Am I phasing? Why? Is this why Edward had called Jasper? Was there danger? I looked from side to side, trying to find the source of it. I smelled vampires, but that was normal. I felt a calmness take me, but it felt more like lethargy. I slumped to the floor and placed my hand bracingly against the window in front of me. My head bowed under the weight of all the emotions that engulfed me.

I didn't hear the footsteps as they approached me, I just felt something warm against my shoulder, and I knew who it was. The only person, except my packmates, who ever felt warm to me. I looked up at her. Even with worry creasing her face, she was beautiful, perfect. She put a small hand on my cheek. She spoke despite the contact. "Oh, my Jacob. Are you okay?" That was all I needed to break me. I grabbed her in a hug that would have damaged most humans and, pulling her on to my lap, rocked against her. No, I wanted to say. No, I am not okay. How could I possibly be okay?

Instead, I cried. I cried because I had wanted a longer goodbye with Seth last night and hadn't slept well. I cried because the memories I had tried to implant in my brain last night didn't stick. I cried because I had had a shitty breakfast with my dad and my sister in complete silence. I cried because _Rachel _had cried and_ Paul_ had had to console her. I cried because there were tears in my dad's eyes when I left my home. I cried because I had dumped everything on Leah. I cried because Charlie was _still_ looking at me like I was a pedophile this morning. I cried because I didn't think it would be this hard. I cried because all of my possessions fit into two boxes and an overnight bag. I cried because I felt like a fraud in these new designer clothes. I cried because there were more just like them waiting for me in the closet that was bigger than my old bedroom. I cried because I had _asked _for a huge bed and had gotten it. I cried because I would _never_ be able to repay the Cullens. I cried because I would_ never_ be able to give this girl these things on my own. This girl, who had taken my hair out of its ponytail holder and was running her fingers through it, trying to comfort me. This girl, who was only bonded to me because I hadn't been able to take no for an answer from her mother. This girl, who would have a fucking _loser_ tied to her hip for the rest of all eternity because he was a _monster_ who had had to rely on magic to trap her. I cried because I had practically _forced_ myself on her family. I cried because I knew I was scaring her by crying and I couldn't stop. I cried because I had figured out why Edward had frowned when I mentioned those mechanical books. And so, I cried. Because I would never, _ever_ deserve Renesmee. And everybody knew it.

* * *

_Author's Note: _I know, I know. Jacob's broken and it's all my fault. Hope you didn't hate it_ too_ much. There was just no way the Jacob we know and love could have taken all of that in stride. I was just _writing_ about the place and was overwhelmed by it.

On a somewhat related and unrelated note, I hope you loved the house. Or, at least, I hoped I explained it well enough to _make_ you love the house. It's a little grandiose for me, but it's still beautiful. And, hopefully, perfect for Esme and the Cullens.

For everyone who's wondering, Book Two is a long ways away. There will be at least three books by the time I stamp "The End" on this bad boy. And, yes, it will definitely go until Renesmee reaches adulthood.


	4. Book One: Part Four

_Author's Note:_ Okay. I know I have a lot of explaining to do. I hope this makes everything that happened at the end of the last part a little clearer. This whole week has been hell, knowing Jake was still torn up on the floor of his room. I hope you have not been roasting with me. I must admit that I teared up a little when I reread the end of the last section for the first time and I hope that it wasn't too emotional for the rest of you. I felt so overwhelmed being in his head throughout his day that I could only imagine what he was feeling.

I hope that I should not read too much into the lack of reviews, especially because I wish to assure you once again that they are appreciated, but not necessary. I'm sorry this update didn't come sooner, work this week interrupted me from my writing. I think that my updates will continue to occur early Friday mornings from now on.

_Stephenie Meyer: _I hope that I am doing justice to your newest Cullen as she continues to grow before my eyes. I like her, I hope you do, too. It's important that you do, seeing as you own her, everyone else in her vampire and wolf families, their friends, and their enemies.

* * *

***

_**'Cause everything it must belong somewhere.  
****...  
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here.  
Oh, I know that now that's why I'm staying here.**_

--Bright Eyes_  
I Must Belong Somewhere_

***

I awoke to the sun rising behind me. My bed was against the window-wall that overlooked the library. The window that I had broke down in front of last night. A familiar warmth was curled up next to me. I was wearing my new clothes from yesterday, but Nessie was wearing pajamas. Her head was resting on my shoulder and her small body only stretched the length of my torso. All my memories of the night before came rushing back to me as I opened my eyes. Except how I had gotten here, in bed. Jasper must have knocked me out. That was embarrassing. Who else had been in the room for my little performance? I groaned. I didn't even want to think about that. Nessie stirred from my noise and rolled away from me. I felt bad, but at least I could sit up without waking her.

I didn't want to think about last night, I needed a distraction. So, for the first time, I took a good look around the bedroom. The bed I was laying in was _huge_ and it had a tall, woolen, padded headboard. It was a good four feet tall and it looked like there was a small wall behind me, keeping the morning light from hitting my face. It didn't run the length of the bed, though. There was almost a foot of mattress without a headboard at the two ends. I sat up and rested against it. The padding was thick and it felt like there was a pillow propping me up. Nice.

The colors in here were darker than I would have imagined, darker than the rest of the house. In fact, it was achromatic. The walls looked white, but, with my eyesight, I could tell it was a pale gray. It reminded me of sea foam when the rocks on La Push's beaches darken its shade. My headboard was a dark, inky gray and the too-soft sheets we were on top of were a matte black, my pillowcases were a stark white. There was no comforter and I was thankful that they hadn't spent money on blankets I would never need to use. My bed took up much more space in my room than Nessie's took up in hers and there wasn't space for a small sofa and bookshelf on the south wall, like there was in her room. Instead, I had a bench at the foot of my bed that ran its length and was made from the same gray twill as my headboard.

To the immediate left and right of the bed, there was an glass, drawer-less nightstand. On the one closest to me, the left one, was a large remote. I picked it up. There were three choices on the four-inch, touch-screen menu: _bedroom_, _bathroom_, and _closet_. Shaking my head, I touched the screen over the word "bedroom." Another menu popped up: _lights_, _TV_, _DVD_, stereo, and _speakers on/off_. I looked up. On the wall directly in front of me hung yet another flat-screen TV. They better have gotten bulk discounts on all this. There were glass shelves all around it. On the three short ones directly below it, sat a satellite TV tuner on top of a TiVo, a DVD player, and a stereo with no speakers. I had seen the same stereo throughout the house, too, in Nessie's room and in our study. There were a few other glass shelves surrounding it that were empty. I guess I would fill them with my pathetic CD and DVD collection later. A yard or so below the last shelf under the TV was a long dresser, made from black wood.

I turned back to the remote. Lights? I laughed quietly to myself. Now that I really thought about it, I had never _seen_ anyone turn the lights on or off back at the old house. I had turned on lights in the cottage, but never in the main house. Is this how they did it? I had never noticed light switches. Was it really done by remote? I had never seen one, maybe it was in the wall. I pressed _lights_ on the remote. Another screen came up: _bed_, _dresser_, _fan_, _all_. I pressed _all_. I might as well get the whole effect. Nothing happened. I looked back at the remote. _Another_ screen? _1_, _2_, and _3_. Built in dimmer switch? I pressed _1_ and looked up. In the dead center of the ceiling was a brushed aluminum fan. It had a domed, opaque glass middle that was lit very dimly from the inside. Over the dresser and the bed was a set of three recessed lights, they too turned on dimly. While I was looking at the ceiling, I noticed inset speakers throughout the room. Unbelievable. I wouldn't test them, now, not with Nessie still asleep.

I had to use the restroom. I figured from the layout of Nessie's room, that it would be through the closet, whose door was on the right side of my room's south wall. I slowly got out of bed, managing not to disturb Nessie in the process. I didn't even let myself look at the stuff on my leftt as I walked through the closet and, opening the door, into the bathroom. There was a couple of feet of space in front of me as I walked into the large bathroom before the tiling hit a wall. Between the wall in front of me and the sink and countertop to my left, I was standing in a small entryway. There was another door on the same wall as the doorway I was standing in that I assumed led back to the top of the study's staircase. I walked into the main space in the room, looking at the gray marble counter and the brushed aluminum faucet and knobs. Alice had been in here, after I passed out, I guess. Great, another witness. There were hair products on the counter. Gel, hairspray and something called hair putty. I usually just put my shoulder-length hair in a ponytail to dry. Something told me that I was going to be getting a haircut, soon. I sighed, resignedly. Whatever Alice wanted, she usually got. There was a hand soap dispenser and a container of cotton swabs that matched the sink's knobs. The only other things on the counter was an electric shaver in its charging base, a small glass, a large bottle of mouthwash, and a black hand towel. I began to open the drawers below counter. A small drawer held combs and brushes. Why couldn't I just have one of each? The other small drawer held an electric toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss. The larger cupboards below them held towels in all sizes. All black. The bath towels looked over-sized. That was pretty cool.

I didn't see a shower stall, there was only an enormous tub half-hidden behind a gray plastic curtain. I could believe the size of this thing. It was made from the same gray marble as the counter and it ran the length of the side wall. It would easily be able to accommodate my height. It even had jet spray nozzles on its sides. I wasn't a bath kind of guy, but I could definitely see myself turning into one with this tub. There was also a shower head and two glass shelves set into the tiled walls. Alice had gotten to the tub, too. The shampoo and conditioner in there was from a brand that I had never seen in the market before. Along with the regular bar of soap, there was body wash. Really? There was also one of those poof ball things that girls used for the body wash. Alice. What was she thinking? Oh my god, is this what Jasper uses? What all the guys in the family use? Throwing my head back, I laughed out loud. That was when I noticed the recessed lights in the ceiling, alongside the built-in speakers. I guess that explains all those settings on the remote. I was about to walk out when I noticed that the wall I had seen earlier belonged to a small room within the bathroom. I opened its door to find a toilet. You gotta be kidding me. Shaking my head, I went in and closed the door. Oh well. After I washed and dried my hands, I walked back to the closet.

This time, I made myself look at the clothes I knew would be there. I had the same two rods on the long walls and a tall dresser in between them. Shirts were on my left, bottoms were on my right. They went from the most casual closest to the doors to full suits and dress shirts the closer I walked towards the dresser. Why would I need a suit? I told myself the same thing I had used to reason with myself yesterday in the dressing rooms. I would stay this size forever. I would probably need to wear a suit at some point in my life. Sam and Emily's wedding was coming up. It wasn't a waste.

I turned to the built-in dresser to take my mind off of the _four _suits hanging next to me in clear garment bags. There were three open shelves on top, the first one going up to the ceiling. Sweats and exercise shorts on top, jean and cargo shorts filling the next two. The first two drawers beneath it held underwear. She obviously didn't know which kind to get so I had brand-new boxer briefs _and_ boxers. All Calvin Klein. Shit. There was no way I would be able to phase in front of the guys wearing these. Oh, man, they were going to give it to me. Especially because half of them were either brightly colored or had stripes. Shit. The next three drawers held undershirts. Again, she hadn't known what to buy me. I never wore shirts, let alone _under_shirts, so, it's not like I knew, either. There were tanks in basic colors, v-necks in basic colors, and crew necks in every color imaginable. These, too, were all Calvin Klein. Then there was a whole drawer of short white socks, a drawer or short black socks, and a drawer of dress socks in basic colors. And then one last drawer all the way at the bottom that held ties in tons of colors and prints.

If all this was here, what the hell was in the dresser in the other room? I went out of the closet and was planning on walking straight to it, when I stopped. Looking at my room from this angle, the southeast corner, I realized that I had been wrong before. The dominant colors in the room weren't the blacks, whites and grays of grayscale. From where I was standing, it was obvious that the dominant color in my room was green. The two floor-to-ceiling windows in this fourth floor room, towering above some trees and allowing me a perfect view of the forest behind the house, made it seem like I _was_ outside. The achromatic colors in the room created a blank canvas for the natural colors invading it from its windows. It was perfect. I sat down on the bench at the foot of my bed, facing the view. I was careful to avoid the new laptop that was still sitting beside me. I glanced towards the girl on the bed, Nessie was still asleep.

There was a light knock on the hallway door. I inhaled. "You can come in, Bells." I said it softly, knowing she'd be able to hear and not wanting to disturb Nessie. I didn't turn around until I felt her weight next to me on the bench. She was leaning against the bed, looking past me. "It's pretty, huh?"

She nodded and copied my tone. "Esme wanted to give you a room that made it look like you were outside. She thought you'd like that."

"I do." I turned back and we sat in silence for a few moments.

"What happened yesterday, Jake?" Shit. This was the conversation I knew I'd have to have at some point. I just figured there would be more small talk, first. Oh well. It could be worse. At least I was having it with Bella.

"Edward didn't tell you what I was thinking yesterday?"

"No. He didn't tell any of us. He just said you were overwhelmed. Was it the shopping yesterday? I knew I should have stopped Alice." I shook my head.

"Honestly? I know it sounds kinda stupid, but I think there was a part of me that had never really accepted the move. That first night, after we had had that family meeting about moving, I felt really overwhelmed. Remember? When I didn't want to leave Nessie's room?" She nodded. Of course she remembered. "But, after that night, I pushed those feelings back. All I thought about was getting things ready for the move. Making things right with Leah, Sam, and Billy; spending enough time with everyone; and, showing Nessie as much of La Push as I could while I had the chance. That was it, though. I freaked out when we were shopping, you're not wrong about that. But I really _was_ handling it. I had been preparing myself for the expensive clothing all summer, since Alice took my measurements in June. I guess I just thought that that was all I had to prepare myself for." I stopped and took a breath. It was all rushing out of me, now. Like a dam had broken. She waited patiently for me to finish, taking one of my hands in both of hers.

I laughed mirthlessly as I continued. "I honestly think I was expecting this place to be exactly the same as the main house in Forks. I don't know why, I really wasn't thinking. I just thought I'd get a small room and things would be exactly the same as they'd always been. Like I was spending the night every night in some guest room, or something. Like one long extended sleep-over. And then I got here..."

She finally said something. "And it was too much, right?" I nodded, mutely. "I know, I felt the exact same thing. I mean, I was expecting a mansion, but this place..." She trailed off.

"It's a freaking palace, Bells!" She laughed, but nodded. "I mean, what's with that staircase? And whoever heard of a three-story _glass _library?" She shook her head, giggling her new-Bella tinkling laugh. I hugged her, tightly, taking her off-guard. She relaxed into me and I sighed. "Did I scare you, Bells?" She didn't say anything, she just nodded into my shoulder. "I'm really sorry. It was just too much for me, you know? Leaving La Push, and then the shopping, and then moving in to a freaking glass castle. It was just too much. I wasn't prepared. I'm actually surprised I didn't just phase. I think when Jasper calmed me down, all that energy had to go somewhere, you know? So I just broke down. I'm really sorry."

Her voice was small. "I just didn't know what to do. I had never seen you like that. Not even..." And even though she didn't say it, I knew how she would have finished that sentence. She hadn't even see me cry when she broke my heart that day. I _had_ cried. After she left, I cried the rest of the night. But I hadn't cried in front of her. I wouldn't allow myself to. "You _did_ look like you were going to phase and then Edward called Jasper." I winced. "And it seemed like he calmed you down at first, but then you were hysterical and he couldn't do anything but knock you out. He told Edward later that he couldn't control _himself _as he was feeling your pain..." Her voice cracked on the last word and I held her tighter to me. "That's what he said, _pain_. That doesn't sound like you were just overwhelmed. What else were you thinking about?"

I held back a sigh, thinking about everything that had been racing through my head yesterday. I couldn't tell her all of that. That I wasn't good enough for her daughter, that I was subjecting her to the company of a monster and I was too selfish to give her up and leave. I was glad Edward hadn't told her anything. I decided to tell her the truth, not the whole truth, but enough. "I don't know. I guess I just feel like I just pushed myself on you guys. I mean, I don't even want to _know _how much you guys spent on me and—"

She pulled away, taking my chin in her hand so that I had no choice but to meet her eyes. "Listen to me, Jacob Black." Even now, as a vampire, she couldn't make herself look threatening to me. I rolled my eyes. She just tightened her grip on my chin. "Nessie and I don't want to live without you. What good is all this money we have if we can't even use it to get us what we want the most? You're a part of this family, now, Jake. Get used to it. You think I like them spending all this money on me?" She let go of my face and was silent for a minute as she looked out the window. "You know, I asked Edward about the money, once. I mean, if we have all this money, we could just as easily live as a normal middle-class family. Blend in, you know?" I nodded. "He told me that it was safer this way." Safer? I must have looked confused, because she went on. "I know, I didn't get it either. How is standing out _safer_? But then he explained that we could be as eccentric as we want, and no one would think anything of it. Like in high school, they would go 'camping' and 'hiking' on sunny days and no one thought anything of it. _I _didn't think anything of it, and that was after I knew there was something up with them. They can adopt tons of kids, teenagers, and no one questions it, really. Because they have the means." She shrugged. "I guess it makes sense. They've been doing this for longer than I have, covering their tracks, staying under the radar."

She looked over at her daughter, still fast asleep. I followed her gaze. "I know I'm doing this to protect her, Bells. I know I'm doing this to be stay with you and her. It's just hard." I sighed and tried to lighten my tone. "Anyway, I'm glad I have a few weeks to settle in." I took her hand, again. "I _am _happy I came with you guys, though. Don't ever question that, Bella."

She smiled up at me. "I don't, Jake. I just hope that it get easier for you. I was thinking that maybe Edward and I should stay for a few more days—"

I shook my head. "Are you crazy? You may have hundred of anniversaries, but you only get one chance at your first. Besides, it's bad enough being around Blondie and Emmett, I don't want to hear the two of you tonight." She bowed her head, hiding behind her hair. I laughed and she slugged me in the arm.

"You sure, Jake?"

I nodded. "I'll be okay. I promise. I'm just going to take things slowly. Like today. Today I'm excited because I've never come by early enough to be with her when she wakes up. I'll finally get to see her first thing in the morning and stay with her to tuck her in at night. That makes it worth it, you know?" She nodded, but didn't look fully convinced. "Would you feel better if I let you make me breakfast? I didn't get any dinner last night." She rolled her eyes, but stood up. I stood up after her and brought her into another hug. "You're the best vampire friend a wolf's ever had." She laughed and I kissed the top of her head. My stomach growled and she laughed again.

"Pancakes or French toast?" She asked as she walked towards the door.

I stood in the doorway to the closet, scratching my stomach, a big smile on my face. "Yes."

She laughed. "Both it is." She looked at Nessie. "You need to talk to her, too, you know?" I nodded. Oh, I knew. "She wouldn't leave your side last night." I was swimming in guilt. She laughed to herself a little. "She knew, you know? Everything you told me. She kept showing me the day, before she went to sleep. Your face when we left La Push and Charlie's, your face when you were going in and out of the dressing rooms, your face when you walked into your room. She knows you so well."

My heart swelled for the little girl who had slowly twisted herself into the once flat sheet. "I love her, Bells." She nodded, smiling, and walked out of the room.

***

"Wake up, Nessie." I had come back after showering and dressing to find her still fast asleep on the bed. I didn't want to wake her up, but I needed to talk to her before I ate breakfast. It was already a little after noon, but that only made it mid-morning on the West Coast. I was surprised I woke up so early, having gotten so little sleep my last night in Forks. But I guess when Jasper knocks you out, he knocks you out. She stirred a little and moaned, but didn't wake up. I lay down next to her. My bed was so wide that even though she was on what would be considered one side of the bed, I could still fit my body between her and the edge with room to spare. She rolled into my warmth, her mouth open, a soft whistle escaping between her lips. She was so perfect-looking that for a moment, those same horrible thoughts from last night came back to me.

I had never really thought any of these things before last night. I mean, when I first phased I _had _thought I was a monster. No longer human. Not deserving of Bella. But since imprinting, my worst thoughts had been about future-Nessie not returning my inevitable romantic feelings. And I had dispelled those musings by reminding myself that I was hers, that it was _her_ romantic feelings _I _would be returning. Before imprinting, I had abhorred the idea of having my will taken from me, _forcing _me to love someone. But, after losing Bella, I was jealous of the love between imprints, while still managing to remain nauseated by it. After Nessie, though, and I don't know how much of this is the imprinting talking, I couldn't bring myself to _care_ about my involuntary pull to the most perfect creature that had ever existed. Who would not want to share in every moment, every aspect of _her_ life?

No offense to Sam, Quil, Jared, and even Paul, but their girls were third-rate compared to mine. My girl could speak with perfect diction when she was a week old, walk gracefully when she was less than a month old, and read poetry when she was only three months old. She learned simple languages in under an hour, complex ones in weeks; could do calculations in her head in seconds; and, had a limitless photographic memory. Not to mention the fact that she could project her own thoughts into the minds of others.

Yet, it was exactly these things, the things I found to be the most amazing about her, that made me feel her inferior in every way. I was somewhat okay with it, though. I knew I'd never be smart enough for her. It was an impossibility that anyone other than a vampire _could _compete with her. The obvious class difference between us, which had all but slapped me in the face yesterday, just made that inferiority suddenly deepen. I think that was the last straw. Because I absolutely refuse to live out of Carlisle's and Edward's pockets for the rest of my life, existence, eternity. And Edward definitely didn't want a mechanic for a son-in-law. Didn't think a grease monkey was good enough for _his_ daughter. I know that he didn't think I was good enough for Bella. In fact, I would bet anything that the only reason he's going to make me learn a language too, was because he finally figured out a way to "better" me and I would have to go along with it. Not only because I wouldn't want Nessie to experience all that stuff without me, but because it would disappoint her to go without me. And he knew that I would walk through fire before I did anything to disappoint her. And the thing is, I can't even blame him. He's right. The only thing I had going for me was that I would do anything to provide for her when she became my wife, when we had children together. No matter what, I _would _support my family. But I couldn't do _this_ for her. I couldn't build her her own glass palace one day. And that left me with nothing.

The other thoughts from last night, I could deal with. I knew my family was disappointed with me for leaving my home, but they'd get over it. My sisters had always done what was best for them, it was my time now. Leah was fine handling my pack, and it wasn't like I wasn't going to be phasing all of the time to keep up with them. All I had to do was phase when Seth was running patrols and I would find out _everything. _I knew Charlie would get over his reservations...eventually. And I had time. I had all the time in the world. I could even get over the expensive clothing. I just had to look at them as my costume for this huge farce the Cullens and I were playing on the city of Hanover.

So, what were my options, really? First thing's first, I would have to accept that this was _my_ room. That this was all _my_ stuff, now. And I would have to do it gracefully. Because I knew that last night's breakdown was only increasing the guilt Nessie already felt. Bella had said it herself, she knew what was bothering me, maybe not all of it, but enough. And she would blame herself for it. So, from now on, I'd accept everything with a smile on my face. I would also thank Alice and Esme for everything. Because, they more than most, had accepted me as a part of the family, and I wouldn't throw that in their faces by being unappreciative. Finally, I would do it _all_ for Nessie. I would do well in school, like Carlisle wanted me to. I would also think about college. Nothing close to Ivy League like the rest of the Cullens, but something. Because I would never put her in the position where she might be ashamed of my ignorance. I would study those mechanical books, too, though. I know it may not seem like much to Edward, but I really did love the work, and I would be able to provide for her that way. I know that there are mechanic licensing tests and I would study and pass them by the time I finished school, so that I could keep my promise to Carlisle but still get a job once I graduated. And, who knows, maybe with Alice's help with my finances...well, who knows.

I stroked Nessie's face, brushing a few tendrils from her closed eyes. "C'mon, Nessie. Time to wake up," I whispered. I was looking forward to the next few weeks. I'd never babysat her for longer than it took for her parents to hunt, this was going to be fun. It wasn't like I'd be doing it on my own, the rest of the family would be here, but there was an unspoken understanding with everyone that she was my responsibility when Bella and Edward weren't around. Well, everyone except Blondie. She still thought we were competing for her attention. I knew I didn't have to. She enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed hers. "Nessie..." Her heart rate increased and her eyes blinked open. "Hey, honey. Good morning." She smiled at me timidly and it broke my heart. I rolled her on to my chest and hugged her to me. "Oh, Nessie." She said something, but my chest muffled her words. I sat up, leaning against the headboard, until she was resting on my lap.

She looked up into my eyes. "Are you very angry with me?"

"_What?_" I didn't think it was possible to feel shittier about all this than I already did. I was wrong. I hugged her to me, again. "Of course not, honey. Why would you even think that? I'm only angry at myself. I was upset yesterday, but it didn't have anything to do with you."

"You're not mad that I made you move with me?" Her voice was just a whisper now.

I sighed and cupped her face in my hand. The similarity between this position and the one Bella had had me in less than an hour ago was not lost on me. "How many times do I have to tell you, I moved because _I _wanted to. My little outburst would not even compare to what I would have been last night if I were sitting at home without you. I would be running through Canada as a giant wolf right now if you had left without me." She looked at me quizzically. "It's easier to deal with being sad when I'm wolfing it."

"Have you ever done that before? Been so sad that you went wolfing it?" I nodded hesitantly and was thankful that she didn't ask me more about it.

I asked her what I had asked Bella, earlier. "Did I scare you?" She shook her head adamantly and I smiled. Then I sobered up. "Did I make you sad, though?" She dipped her head and that was enough of an answer. "I'm so sorry, honey." Man, I had said that a lot today. "I'm better now, okay? I swear. I'll never make you sad, again." She looked up at me again, smiling at my far-reaching promise, one I'd never really be able to keep. She hugged me around my neck and I buried my head in her hair, soaking up the love she radiated. "Does this mean that I'm forgiven?" She nodded against me. I smiled. "Good. Now I can enjoy our day together. What do you usually do first thing in the morning?" She pressed one of her hands to my neck and showed me her aunts dressing her up. "Really?" I asked, moving her so I could look her in the eye. "_Every _day?" She smiled at my incredulity and nodded. "Well, maybe you could do that without me? Your mom's making me breakfast." She nodded, again. "C'mon, let's go downstairs." I stopped at my dresser and noticed that my watch and bracelet had been set there. I put them on. Might as well. I held back a sigh and reminded myself of my resolutions.

We walked out the one door I had yet to open, the one closest to the window-wall in the southeast corner of my room. The east wing of the fourth floor that Nessie and I shared was cut down the middle to accommodate both of our rooms, our closets, and our bathrooms. Our bedrooms took up the north half of the wing and our closets and bathrooms took up a majority of the south half. The second half of the east and west walls and the entirety of the south wall made up a U-shaped hallway. It ended in our bedrooms and its southwest corner led out to the atrium and the main winding staircase. The east window-wall ended in my room before the hallway and the south wall had a few windows set into them so that the front of the house kept up its appearance.

Edward hadn't been kidding about the sound-proofing in the house. We were standing in the silence of the corridor, but when I opened the door, I was struck with the sounds of Bella and Esme working on my breakfast in the kitchen. Weird. I wonder if the walls within our wing were sound-proof, too. It was disorienting not being able to hear where everybody else was, if they were even in the house. I guess Edward would be the only one still able to _hear_ everyone.

The sun was out today and it was at the perfect height in the sky for a column of light to filter in from the glass dome over our heads and fall to the room below. The center of the house looked even more amazing now than it had in the darkness of last night. Nessie and I were both momentarily stunned and I tried not to be discouraged by the look of awe that was plastered on her face. The staircase landing was right outside our door and I placed Nessie on top of the outer banister and laughed as she giggled her way down. I noticed that there was no entrance to our study from the third floor. I guess I should have realized that yesterday.

I met up with the girls in the kitchen. Esme's face looked concerned as I walked through the door, and I inwardly groaned. I guess I'd be dealing with a lot of that, today. I only had two choices, I could brush it off or wallow. I brushed it off. Bella smiled at me apologetically when she saw the look that Esme gave me. "Hey, Esme."

"Good morning, dear. Or, I guess I should say 'Good afternoon.' We're so lucky that we skip the jet lag of moving across timezones." I laughed politely. "Would you like to eat on the back deck? It's so beautiful out."

"Sure." I watched as she expertly flipped a slice of French toast without the use of a spatula as Bella placed some bacon on a skillet. "Where is everybody?"

Esme answered. "Up in their rooms and Edward went with Carlisle to take care of some business in Hanover." She picked up a full plate and I followed her through the open back wall outside. Bella and Nessie were right behind me. It never failed to amaze me when I saw them out in the sun. It was no wonder that the Quileutes from the legends thought they were gods the first time they saw them.

I was starving and it was silent for a few moments as I dug in to my food. "What did they have to do there?" I asked through a mouth full of pancakes. Nessie looked disgusted at my display. "Hey, Nessie, you like seafood?"

"Jake," Bella warned, though from the way she made my name into two syllables, it sounded more like she was pleading with me.

But it was too late. Nessie looked at me questioningly, probably wondering why I didn't remember that she hated most human food, seafood in particular. I had her. I opened my mouth. "See food!" She giggled and Bella sighed loudly. She was too easy, she had never heard the simplest jokes. It made up for the fact that Esme had all but forbade me from goading Rosalie with my dumb-blond jokes.

Esme decided to save me from the lecture Bella was gearing up to give me. "Carlisle had to check-in at the hospital today and Edward went to gage everyone's reaction to him. They're setting up the cover story that Edward's my younger brother, starting his junior year at the college." I nodded. That made sense. Bella had told me that it was Edward's unofficial job within the family to find out if outsiders were catching on to them. "They should be back soon." She looked up at the sun, as if figuring out the time of day from it. As if she needed it.

I heard the engine to one of the rented cars drive past the house and I wondered for the first time where the garage was. Carlisle and Edward were on the deck in seconds, coming around the west side of the house. Nessie jumped up and hugged her dad. We all said our hellos and Carlisle had the same look on his face Esme had had earlier. I ignored it again. I figured that if I acted normally, they would treat me normally. Alice opened the French door on the north wall of her room that led to nothing but air and jumped out onto the deck to meet us, somehow managing to close the door after her. I was surprised that as soon as she opened it I could hear Jasper moving around in there. Edward had told me the glass was sound-proof, too. It was still weird to see it proved to me. I wonder if it would be as effective on my wolf ears.

"Probably not." Edward answered my silent question. "We can hear through them. Not perfectly, but they don't keep us out completely." I nodded as I finished off my plate, playfully shoving my body weight against the pixie vampire who sat down next to me on the picnic-style bench. I was grateful she wasn't acting any differently towards me. I thought back to the windows, wondering if Nessie could hear through them. We had never really been able to figure out how close to vampiric her abilities were. She couldn't run as fast as they could, but we didn't really know if that was only because she was a child with a small gait. "That's a good question." He turned his attention to his daughter. "Renesmee, can you hear your uncle Jasper in his room?" She listened intently and then shook her head. Interesting. Everyone else seemed to think so, too. Carlisle and Edward started theorizing amongst themselves, designing new ways to test her senses. Nessie looked bored and she jumped down to sit in between Bella and Esme.

Alice toyed with the brown leather bracelet and watch band on my left arm, smiling slyly. "What? Don't look like that. I told you I liked them." I bumped into her again, harder this time. She only smiled wider.

Then she looked over at Nessie, still in her pajamas. "C'mon, Nessie. Time to get you dressed." She cocked her head up towards the third floor. "Rosalie, open your door, I'm bringing Nessie up."

It was Emmett who opened their door to nothing, his arms were crossed over his chest and he was grinning broadly down at all of us. "Don't you _dare_ jump onto the deck from there, Emmett Cullen." His adopted mother warned him. "You and your brother did enough damage to my garden when you were wrestling earlier this morning. I expect you to replant what you destroyed. _Today_." She paused and raised her voice, now a necessity. "Did you hear that Jasper?" I laughed as Emmett slinked back into his room, trying to avoid his scolding. Nessie jumped into her aunt's arms and they jumped through the open doorway two floors above us.

During Nessie's fashion show and subsequent photo session, which I still couldn't believe happened every morning, I sat on the couch and flipped through all the channels. I tried to memorize some, at least the ones I knew I would probably watch, but there were too many of them. Movie channels, sports channels, it seemed like they had bought every package. I shook my head as I flipped past an English rugby match. Edward came around the corner from the hallway leading to the library and sat down next to me. Crap. I couldn't have this conversation, again. It was too taxing. Especially with Edward, because he knew the truth. "Relax, Jacob." He sat a box down next to me. It was a cell phone. Not just a cell phone, but an iPhone. Christ, these things had only come out earlier this summer. "I told you to relax, Jacob. Emmett bought it a week ago and then couldn't use it because of the touchscreen. So, either you use it, or it goes to waste."

I guess that did make me feel a little bit better. Still... "Why do I need a cell phone?"

He rolled his eyes. "First of all, we don't have a land line here, so, unless you never plan on speaking to anyone from La Push again, you'll need one." Shit. I probably should call my dad. "Yes, you should. Second, you're school isn't exactly around the corner and it would ease Esme's worries if she had a way of reaching you." I laughed at that. A vampire mother worrying about her supernatural children, as if anything could harm us. He ignored me. "Lastly, and I think this will change your tune, Emmett bought one for Rosalie, too, that I'm giving to Nessie. You know she'll want a way to keep in touch with you and I'm sure you wouldn't mind a way of talking to her while you're in Hanover." He had me there. Gracefully, I reminded myself. Edward looked at me, curiously.

"Thanks, Edward. Tell Emmett I said thanks, too." I picked up the box and studied it. I guess it would also help with the whole rich kid image. 16 gigs? I think I had twenty CDs in that box. Hey, where is that box?

"Your box of tools is already in the garage. It's to the west of the house, I know you were wondering about that earlier. Your other box is over there," he pointed towards the front door, "along with your Wolf Pack." He was the only one besides Alice who called it that. I think he secretly liked to remind me of its stupid name all the time. I got up to go put everything away when he stopped me. "One more thing..." He put a small brown leather money clip down on the couch in between us. There were five twenty dollar bills under the clip and two cards in the card holder on the opposite side. One was a New Hampshire state driver's license with my real name and birthday, but it had the same picture on it as my fake one. The other was an ATM card. "Carlisle's already put in the rest of your first month's allowance." There's _more? _Do I want to know how much more? "Probably not." Gracefully, I reminded myself, yet again. Edward seemed to be catching on and I thought I saw his mouth turn up a little at corners. "The PIN is 0910." Nessie's birthday, the day I imprinted. Most imprinted wolves knew the day they imprinted better than they knew their own birthday. Perfect. There's no way I'd forget it. "I thought that would be a safe bet." I nodded, slid it into my back pocket, and went to get my stuff from the front door.

There was a hook on the back of my door that I had never noticed before and I hung my bag on it. I unpacked my box, quickly. All of my DVDs and CDs only filled one of the glass shelves. Oh well. I sat down on the bench in front of the bed. _My_ bed, I corrected myself. I looked around _my_ room. _My _TV, _my_ DVD player, _my_ stereo, _my_ laptop, I itemized everything I saw. I picked up my remote. Now that I knew I was the only one besides Nessie who could even have one of these, it seemed even more ridiculous. _Gracefully_. Goddamn, I was annoying myself with that. It was necessary, though.

I turned on the TV, looking through all the menus. I saw a remote on top of the satellite box. It was a remote for the TiVo. At least it was a universal remote and I wouldn't have to use this thing to change the channels. I was about to put my large remote down when I remembered something from earlier. There were bathroom and closet menus. Were they just for lights? They couldn't be, there had been speakers in the bathroom. I pressed "bathroom" from the main menu and two options came up: _lights _and _speakers on/off._ I pressed "speakers on/off" and I could hear the sound from the TV echoing in the bathroom. Wow. The sound didn't even go off in the bedroom. I turned the speakers off and put the remote down again.

Shaking my head, I looked around _my_ room. What next? I picked up the laptop sitting next to me. Guess now's as good a time as any. It was sitting on top of some sort of plastic pad. I put it aside as I placed the laptop in front of me and turned it on. Edward or someone must have already set everything up for me. I noticed that the monitor swiveled and could shut with the screen facing up. That's weird. This whole thing was weird for me. I had only ever used a computer at school, and it sure as hell wasn't a laptop. It was an old Mac with a screen that was way smaller than my now-enormous hand. I didn't even know what to do with this thing. It took me a while to get the whole fingertip mouse thing, I was used to having the mouse in my hand. I pressed "start," because that seemed like the logical place to begin and saw something that said "Internet" on it. Cool. A screen popped open and the word "Google" was written across the top of it. Okay, I had heard of Google. But what do you do with it? Just look stuff up? I had seen Nessie do it all the time, I just didn't know what I should look up. I tried to think of what else people did online. Did I need an email address? Who would email me? The Cullens? No one in La Push had the internet. I had heard of MySpace, but everything I heard about it made it seem like you needed to know other people who used it, and no one I knew did. So that was a bust, too. Oh well.

I put my laptop aside and opened the box that my phone was in. I turned it on and looked through all of the menus, read the manual, set up the weather, and saved some phone numbers. When I had put it off for as long as possible, I finally gave in and called my dad. He seemed genuinely excited to hear from me, and I felt guilty for dreading it. I gave him the very-annotated version of events and tour of the house. He seemed impressed and put-off at the same time. He passed the phone to my sister who asked me more practical questions like my new address and phone number. I told her about my iPhone and she was jealous. I almost felt like asking _her _about the internet, knowing that she had a laptop that she had used at school, but didn't. I told her I'd give her the address later and then pressed a bunch of wrong buttons until I found something on the phone that told me my number. She said an emotional goodbye and hung up. I sighed when the call ended and fell back onto my bed. I was exhausted.

***

I was just about to drift off into sleep when Nessie bounced on top of my stomach. I groaned. "C'mon, kid. Lay off." She just jumped faster. "Okay, okay, I'm up." I snatched her up and tickled her until she was panting. She stuck her tongue out at me. "That's what you get. What's going on, anyway?" The sun was still pretty high in the sky and Nessie and I weren't driving Bella and Edward to the airport until late afternoon. She didn't say or show me anything. She just picked up my phone and walked out of the door that led to our study's stairwell and her room. I followed after her, like she knew I would.

All of my CDs were lying on her bed, next to her laptop, I hadn't even noticed that she had taken them from my room. She plugged my phone into a cord coming out of it and sat down, setting the computer and that plastic pad on her lap as she leaned against her headboard. I sat down next to her, kicking off my shoes. I'm surprised I left them on me for as long as I had, I was used to going barefoot. I spread my legs out in front of me and looked over her shoulder at the screen. She was using a program called iTunes to put my CDs on my phone. I smiled down at her. "Thanks, Nessie." She put the laptop down on the bed and curled up on my lap.

I kissed the top of her head and looked around her room. She must have finally unpacked, too. There were three picture frames on her dresser. One was of her and her parents, taken a few weeks after the new year when she looked about two or three. They were standing in front of their snow-covered cottage, Edward had his arm around Bella's waist and Nessie was in her mother's arms, leaning against her chest. Alice liked to include everyone in her photos because she said it made them look like more natural snapshots that would accumulate over someone's life. The second picture was one of the two of us, taken during the summer. Alice had been trying to get a picture of her drinking lemonade, because she thought it would be the perfect summer picture. The only problem was, Nessie _hates_ lemonade. So, Alice wanted me to try and cajole her to drink it. When she had finally had enough, she had threatened to pour it on me. Alice took the picture right as I was unsuccessfully warning her, with a stupid smile on my face, not to do it, and as, with a bigger smile on hers, she was beginning to pour. The third picture was one of the whole family also taken this summer. Nessie and I had come back from a day at the beach on the Rez to find everyone in the backyard. Alice had seen that there would be cloud coverage for a few minutes and had run inside to get her camera and tripod. Then, she had arranged us in couples on the grass in front of the river. I had to admit it was a pretty perfect picture. Right before the camera had gone off, Jasper had sent out waves of euphoria and amusement. He was the only one not caught in some stage of laughing his ass off. Bella was bent over as she laughed through a smile, holding her side; Edward had an arm around her shoulder, laughing with his head thrown back; Rosalie's eyes were half closed, giggling as she shook her head; Emmett was in the process of leaning back, both hands clutching his stomach; Esme and Carlisle were trying to hold back their laughs, looking into each other's eyes; I was laying on my side, hitting the ground with an open palm; Nessie was leaning against my upper legs, pointing at me as she giggled behind her hand; Alice had her mouth wide open, gripping handfuls of Jasper's shirt as she shook; and, Jasper was looking down at her, smiling smugly. After the picture had been taken and Jasper calmed everyone down, his wife had been pissed...until she saw the finished product. She's tried to get him to do it for every picture she's taken since then.

Next to the frames was a large crystal vase filled with...rocks? It took me a while to realize what they were. "Nessie?" She looked up at me. "Are those beach rocks from La Push?" She followed my gaze and then shyly nodded. "So you've been keeping all those rocks you were picking up this summer?" She burrowed her face into my chest and nodded, again. "Why?" She shrugged. "C'mon, Nessie. Please tell me why?"

She hesitated for a while and then got off the bed and walked over to the vase, carrying it back to me. She put the vase right in front of me. "Pick one." Huh? I guess I didn't move because she shook the vase a little and shoved it in my face again. "Pick one." I reached in, grabbed a small tan-colored one, and handed it to her. She set the vase down on the floor and jumped back on to my lap. She studied the rock for a second and then buried herself into me as she put a hand to my face.

I was flooded with a memory of us from just a few weeks ago. We were watching the sunset from a spot on First Beach. I remembered the day. I had promised her earlier that we would finally swim out to the sea stacks past St. James Island. Her parents had hunted while we were gone and I knew that as long as she came back having hunted, I could bring her home way later than usual. As the sky darkened she saw me looking up and down the beach. A few people were heading back to their homes or their cars. A few minutes later, it was deserted. "Ready?" I had asked her. She nodded and wadded out into the water. We were already in our swimsuits and I left her beach bag on the shore. A few minutes later, we were swimming past the first set of islands. I was following her. She wasn't faster than me on land, but in the water she was. She made it to the last island first, and started climbing, knowing I was right behind her. She turned to watch me come over the edge. I sat next to her, our legs dangled off the back cliff. She crawled up into my lap and I could feel her contentment in the memory as we watched some whales play a few miles out. The plateau of this rock was only a few yards long and across and I remember wondering at the time if anyone else had ever even been up there. In her memory I had leaned down and asked her, "Do you like it up here, Nessie?" She had nodded. "Would you like to come back here, again?" She nodded enthusiastically. I had laughed. "We should get going, you still have to hunt." She watched me dive back into the water and then she took one more look around. She had liked the height, the view. But there was something else, an edge of possessiveness towards the landmass.

"Our rock," she had said before she dove into the water after me. As the memory drew to an end and she showed me when she had picked up the tan rock back at First Beach and put it in her bag, all I could think about was her final moment on the island. It amused me to think that she spoke aloud when no one was around. But, more than that, I was amazed that she had felt that kind of connection to that island. Not because I couldn't understand it, but because I had felt the same thing that night.

I smiled down at her as the memory faded. Her face was still pressed into me. She was embarrassed. "I miss our rock, too, honey." I felt her stiffen at my words and then she leaned back to look into my eyes. "Is that why you kept all these rocks, to remind yourself of this summer?" She nodded. I couldn't love this little girl any more if I tried. I gathered her in a hug. "Promise me that the next time we're in Forks we'll go back to our rock, okay?" She nodded and I could feel her smile against my neck. "I like your room, Nessie."

We stayed that way for a few minutes until Bella came into her room. "Hey, you guys. We're going to be leaving in an hour, do you want to go for a run before we take off?" Nessie jumped off the bed ran into her closet, nodding the whole way. When she came out, she wasn't barefoot, anymore. She placed the vase back on her dresser as I went into my room and got my bag off the hook before I met them by the main stairs. While they waited for Edward, I ran ahead and phased, leaving my bag on the back deck.

Bella, Edward, and I ran, but Nessie rode on my back. We familiarized ourselves with the smells, the sounds, and the animals. I knew I would have to take Nessie hunting in a few days, even though she had just gone yesterday. Carlisle theorized that her growth was the reason she needed to hunt more than the others. I know she liked to put it off, just so that she didn't seem weak compared to the rest of her family, but I didn't like her to wait until her thirst got to be too much for her.

After about five minutes, I felt Seth's consciousness enter mine. _Hey, kid._

_Jake? Hey! How was the move? _I slowly let my mind work its way through the memories of the last day. I started thinking about leaving La Push in the morning to getting to Boston. Then I thought about shopping. _Aw, man, that's crazy! $300?_ He laughed when he saw Emmett trying to undress me. He saw my conversation with Emmett and Jasper. _You're right, though. You knew you'd need to get used to the clothes._ I didn't respond, I just kept going. Knowing the worst was coming. _It gets worse?_ I showed him the drive to the house. _That's sucks about Edward getting a headache._ I rolled my eyes at his bromantic feelings for him. _Whatever. You and Leah really need to shut up about that._ Edward shot me a look that I ignored. _Aw, he's _there?I snorted and Nessie and Bella both looked over at me. I just kept thinking about the day. I gave him a tour of the house, pausing only for his _oohs_. _You have your own _study? _What, you think you're Carlisle now? _Edward laughed at that.

_Shut up, kid._

_You're just pissed that Edward thought it was funny._ I just kept going, dreading where this was heading, but having learned by now that nothing, no matter how shameful, was hidden from the pack collective. It would come out at some point. I didn't even care that Edward was here, the same applied for him, too. _Aw, Jake._ There it was, the pity I'd been getting from everyone today. _It's not pity, Jake._

_Yeah, then what is it?_

_You're just incredibly stupid. You know that, right? It's like you're _trying _to make yourself miserable._

_Thanks, Seth. Really._

_No, I'm serious. You think Sam felt deserving of Emily at first? After he left my sister and then he hurt her?_

_Well I didn't fuck up like Sam, did I, Seth? No, I'm just a fuck up. There's a difference. Fucking something up can be forgiven, _being _a fuck up is not really something you can get around._

_You're not a fuck up, Jake. If you were, you would never have stood up to Sam like you did and I would have never have followed you._

_Ah, yes, my one triumphant moment. Please. We're not living in those legends, Seth. This is real life, and in real life I don't deserve her._

_First, you're wrong about the legend thing. You really haven't figured out that one day you'll add to all those legends?_

_Wait, what? What does that mean?_

He ignored me._ And second, if you're so undeserving, why is she riding on your back right now?_

_For the same reason that Sam would've thrown himself under a bus for Emily. Because I'm deluded and there's a part of me that has convinced the bigger part of me that she'd be just as fucked up without me as I'd be without her. So I'm going to stay to make her happy._

_Bullshit. You're staying because _you_ want to stay, because you think you _can _be deserving of her, because you _want _to be deserving of her._ I thought back to this morning and the promises I'd made to myself. _See!_

_Well, I'm at least going to _try _to make her happy. So that she'll have the things she wants, so that she'll never be ashamed of me._

_But that's the whole point, you idiot. You do it for her, to make her happy, because that's what makes _you_ happy._

_You know what, kid, I don't even get what you're fucking point is._

_I know! _He laughed. Beside me, Edward was laughing, too. I felt like growling at him, but his daughter was on my back. For some reason this thought just made the two of them laugh harder. _It's just a part of imprinting. You already know you have to suck it up. _I thought back to the mantra I'd been telling myself all day. _Exactly. And don't worry about Edward, he knows your a good guy, a good Alpha. Give him _some_ credit._

_What, are you going to put in a good word for me in your pillow talk?_

_I really wish you'd stop with that shit._ _You know, it wouldn't be so bad if it was just you ribbing me about it, but I get it from Leah _all _the time._

_You know she just hates that you're mom's with Charlie._ All of a sudden I got a flash of Charlie and Sue making out on the couch at the Clearwater's. I snorted in disgust. _Fuck, Seth! What the hell was that?_

That's_ the reason I'm out here, sitting in the middle of the woods as a wolf with nothing to do._

_Aw, man. You mean that's going on right now?_

_Yeah. And thanks to my super wolf reflexes, they didn't even hear me come in._

_Well didn't your super wolf _hearing _warn you before you walked in on that?_

_I was listening to music. You know how great this Wolf Pack is? I can carry _everything _with me._

I groaned. _ Not you, too! You know you don't _have _to call it that! _He was thinking about when he was working on them with Alice. I gasped. You? _You came up with the name? _I couldn't help myself. I was snorting and barking out laughter so hard that I had to slow down.

He growled, low and menacingly. It was hard to remember that Seth was a wolf sometimes. I know it sounds stupid, considering I run with him all the time and have him in my head. But when he's human and even when he's his wolf-self, he doesn't have a very wolf-like nature. But this growl was very realistic and I knew he was serious. _If you _ever _tell my sister that I came up with that name I will personally rip you—_

_Yeah? You and what army, kid? _He replayed my little meltdown last night. _Shit. That's a low-blow, Seth._

Then he was his normal self. _I know, man, I'm sorry. It's just that Leah's been on me—_

_Forget it. I won't tell if you won't tell. _

We feel into a comfortable conversation after that. I showed him all the tech stuff in my room and he was impressed. He saw my iPhone and wanted my phone number. I told him I'd call him later and give it to him. I really needed to memorize that number. He, too, had no idea what to do with the internet. _I see why you were so overwhelmed yesterday. I'm starting to feel like it's too much. But you really shouldn't dwell on the money stuff, Jake. You know better than to think that will be what's important to Nessie. _I showed him her face this morning when she walked under the main dome in the daylight. _Yeah, but it also seemed like she wasn't even paying much attention to the house last night, she was more interested in all her books. _I guess he had a point. _I think I'm going to head over to Emily's. At least I can use her phone to call my mom and give them a heads up that I'm coming home. _We said our goodbyes and he phased back, leaving me alone in my thoughts. Well, not completely.

We ran for forty-five minutes before finally heading back home. Home. It was weird to think that my home was her home, was Bella and Edward's home. I hadn't gotten used to that yet. Nessie put my bag in my mouth before following her mother back inside.

I came back in the house to find her on the couch. Rosalie was fussing with her hair as she sat on Bella's lap. "You really should put your hair in a ponytail before you go out running." She put a hand to her aunt's face. Blondie scowled. "Well you should put your hair in a ponytail before you ride that beast, too." I laughed. Nessie crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her aunt who ignored her and kept running her fingers through her niece's hair.

Edward came down the stairs carrying the rest of their luggage. Most of his brothers and sisters were following him. Carlisle and Esme walked into the room from the library. Bella hugged Nessie tightly to her as she stood up. It looked like she'd be crying if she could. She set Nessie down to hug everyone as she said her goodbyes and she ran upstairs, coming back down a second later holding both my phone and her imprint's bag. I put the phone in my bag, along with the money clip that was a burning a hole in my back pocket.

"Don't worry," Rosalie was telling her newest sister-in-law, "I'll take care of her while you're gone." Alice looked over at me and rolled her eyes.

Emmett and I helped Edward carry the bags to the car he had already parked right outside the front door. Emmett was taunting him before we turned around and walked back into the house. "Edward's gonna get laid, Edward's gonna get laid." We both turned to glare at him. He ignored Edward and focused on me. "What, man?"

"Christ, Emmett, she's my best friend. She's your _sister!_"

He rolled his eyes. As he was hugging Bella goodbye he started up again. "Bella's gonna get laid, Bella's gonna get laid." Edward growled at him and I was thankful that Nessie was already in the car and probably hadn't heard. I have to admit, though, it was a little funny when he did it to Bella. Just because of her reaction. Her instinct was to be embarrassed and hide behind her hair, but then, when she heard him laugh at her, she hissed at him. That just made him laugh harder, though. "Ooh, Edward, you got yourself a freak in the shee—Ow!" Rosalie elbowed him and gave him a look that even to the untrained observer like myself seemed to mean that he _wouldn't _be getting laid if he kept it up. I saw Edward sigh in relief when we got to the car and saw that Nessie had her earphones on and was listening to her new iPhone.

I was surprised that she kept them on for the remainder of the trip. It was her first time away from her parents, too, and I expected her to be just as anxious about the separation as they were. Edward kept trying to lay down the ground rules as we made our way into Boston. She was to eat two normal dinners and hunt at least twice a week. All the Edward-approved TV programming was still in effect. Her bedtime was nine. He kept going. When we got closer to Boston he stopped talking. The noise level must be kicking in. The closer we got to the airport, the worse it seemed to get, until his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. We stopped in a small, shaded unloading area outside of their gate and Edward and I started unloading the trunk. Nessie finally stopped listening to her music and spent the next few minutes with her mom in the backseat. Edward and I checked their luggage and then walked back to the car. Bella was already clutching Nessie to her, holding back non-existent tears. Edward was pinching the bridge of his nose, obviously uncomfortable. I wonder how much busier this airport was compared to Sea-Tac.

Edward leaned into the back door, speaking to Nessie. "Listen to you grandparents, your aunts and uncles, and Jacob." She nodded, solemnly. "Remember to tell someone when you need to hunt." She rolled her eyes, but nodded her head. He leaned in and concentrated on her for a moment. "What are you keeping from me?" She squinted her eyes at him and leaned into him, copying his movements. She must have told him something, because he smiled back at her. "I think that's wonderful, sweetheart." She smiled at him and then jumped into him, wrapping her arms around her neck. "I love you, Renesmee. We'll be home soon."

"Oh, yeah, Bells. When are you guys coming home?"

She didn't move her eyes from her husband and daughter. "The ninth."

"Can't wait to get back with enough time to help plan your party with Alice?" She shot a quick smile at me, but her heart wasn't in it. I understood. I couldn't imagine being away from Nessie for close to a month. Edward passed Nessie off to her and she latched on to her mother. Bella was whispering things in her ear, but they were too low for me to hear. We had been in the loading area for far too long, and I was surprised no one had told us anything, yet. Bella finally pulled herself away from her daughter. She seemed so distraught that it was hard to look at her. I hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "I promise I'll take good care of her. Go have some fun. She'll be here when you get back." I pushed her away gently so that I could see her face. "Or is it me you'll miss?" I winked and she smiled, it was better this time. After one more round of hugs and kisses and goodbyes, I got in the driver's seat and Edward managed to get Bella into the terminal.

I waited until I had maneuvered through the worst of the airport traffic before I turned to look at Nessie. She was staring at the window, still listening to her music. I leaned over and ruffled her hair, "You okay?" She turned towards me, taking off her earphones, and smiled faintly. "I know, I'm going to miss them, too. But there's no reason we can't have fun at home without them. So...which of Edward's rules are were going to break first?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Where's your phone?"

Before I could ask her why she was asking, it was ringing. I pulled it out of my bag. _Edward calling..._ Crap. "I'm still within hearing range, aren't I?" She nodded, giggling. I accepted the call. "I know, I know, I was just kidding."

"No you weren't. Don't make me ask Rosalie to keep an eye on you." An idle threat. "You want to bet on that?"

"Are you going to waste your last few minutes of cell phone time threatening me or are you going to speak to you daughter?" I congratulated myself on my great deflection. "Put her on." I handed her the phone.

"Hi, Daddy. Are you almost on the airplane?" She muted the phone as she listened to his response. "I think he's out of hearing range, now. Can you test him?" She quickly unmuted the phone and I tried to think of something. "Can you save me some of those airline peanuts? ... I don't _think_ I like them, I just wanted to give them to Jacob." I smiled. "...Okay, Daddy. I love you, too." She muted the phone again. "Did you think of anything?"

I shook my head. "I think you're going to have to do it." I already knew the perfect way to test it. "You know all those words that Edward doesn't like Emmett saying in front of you?"

She nodded in understanding as she unmuted the phone. "No, I'm here, Momma. I think I just have bad reception. ... Will you take pictures for me? ... I love you, too, Momma. Tell Daddy I said goodbye. ... Bye, Momma, have fun. ... I always have fun with Jacob." I smiled, again. "Bye, Momma." She ended the call and grinned at me. So now I can add phone calls to the list of things that get her talking. I'm really starting to love our new phones.

"Out of range?" She nodded her head. "What are you keeping from him?" She didn't answer, she just started playing with the GPS system.

All of a sudden a very synthesized woman's voice came from the dashboard, "Continue on the 90 south."

I looked warily at Nessie. "And I'm supposed to be following this?" She smiled secretively, nodding. I picked up my phone. "Okay, let me just call Alice and tell her that we're going to be home later than we thought."

"She knows." I shook my head at her and she had the decency to look a little guilty.

"Of course she does. Care to let me in on the secret?" She shook her hand. "You're having too much fun keeping me in suspense, huh?" She nodded with a grin. I got to admit, I couldn't care less. I felt free, wonderful. I had never been alone in public with her before. I liked it. I liked being her only tie to our world. I liked feeling like I was her only safety net. It was sick, but I was _supposed_ to be her protector. I liked the role. Fuck that, I loved it. I was in a good mood as she played with the radio dial. There was traffic. Perfect. More time together.

The directions eventually led us to the bookstore for the Berklee College of Music. "Can you at least tell me _now_?" I asked as I drove around the block, looking for a parking spot. She leaned across the center console and pressed a hand to my bare arm. She showed me an image of her mom's birthday party, she was sitting at Edward's piano, playing her mom her lullaby as her birthday gift. "Has Edward been teaching you to play the piano?" She shook her head. "Then...?" She showed me an image of us in the store, buying beginner's piano books. _Oh_. I smiled at her. "She'll love it." As I drove around the neighboring streets, I realized that we were only a few blocks from the shops that Alice had taken us to the other day. I knew there was valet parking there so I made my way over. I was suddenly very happy to have that money clip. "What did you tell your dad earlier?" She showed me a big box with a bow on it, she was giving it to her mom for her birthday. I was impressed. I think she might be the best at blocking him because she was used to preparing her thoughts for others to see. He knew that she was keeping whatever was in the big box a secret from him, but he didn't think anything of it. He certainly didn't think that she was going to try and learn the piano while he was gone.

We valeted the car and walked the few blocks to the bookstore. She stopped abruptly a few stores down. She looked up at me. "I forgot to tell you, Alice called earlier and she paid for the books she thinks I would need. They're under your name." I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. I had planned on paying for the books she wanted. Now I knew the rush that Edward got from buying things for Bella. I went inside and tried very hard to ignore the stares the other customers were giving us. I guess it didn't really look right for this 20-something guy to be toting around a six-year-old girl that was obviously not related to him. No, no, you don't understand. We're soul mates. It's okay. I went straight to the counter and picked up the package. I didn't even know if non-students were allowed to shop here, but they didn't ask me for anything but an ID to prove that I was, in fact, Jacob Black. I wonder if Alice could get anything done with enough palm-greasing.

I was hungry, so we went back to the shopping center. I had Chinese food this time from the food court. Nessie was too busy looking over all of her books to have enough time to wrinkle her nose at the smell of my dinner. It was starting to get dark out and I had an idea. "You want to go back up to that lookout spot and see everything in the dark?" She looked up from her book and nodded enthusiastically. After I threw out my trash, we went and bought tickets, but it was still only dusk out. "You want to go now or wait until dark?" She showed me an image of the skyline she had memorized last time, lit up only by lights in their windows and bouncing off their facades. "Okay. Was there somewhere else you wanted to go for an hour or so?" She nodded shyly and showed me the entrance to a bookstore. I grabbed her other books so that she would have her hands free. "Lead the way."

I paid close attention to her while she browsed, but I gave her some space to look around. Customers, again, were staring at us. I couldn't tell if it was the giant-stalker thing this time or if it was because a six-year-old was looking around in the classics section. I made a note to myself that book shopping was definitely something that Nessie should be doing online, only. At least for a year or two. I was also trying to find things that she was interested in so that I could buy them for her for her birthday. After a half hour or so, I hit pay dirt. Her gaze kept wandering over to the map section, but she looked too uncertain to go over there. I didn't push her. With her memory, my idea for her gift would be spoiled if she looked at everything she wanted. Instead, she settled on looking through the travel books. It was close enough to the periodical section that I could look at some car and bike magazines and still keep my eye on her. I saw her looking at one book for too long a period of time and I went over to see what it was. She had found a Washington travel book and was staring at a picture taken from First Beach. I could see our rock in the distance. I didn't want her to be sad, so I told her it was dark enough to go up and see the view and we left.

I was glad I had thought of it. The skyline was even more beautiful at night and the observation deck was empty. I held her bag in one hand and held her to my hip with the other. After ten minutes, I felt her head dip closer and closer to my shoulder. I stayed where I was, letting her fall asleep against me before I took the elevator ride down, again. I had an idea. First, I went to the souvenir shop and bought her a snow globe of the Boston skyline. Then, I went back to the bookstore and bought her the Washington book, along with the best car magazine I had seen. I hid her presents in my bag and carried Nessie and the rest of our purchases back to the valet, giving him my ticket and a sizable tip. I hoped it would keep him from sticking around long enough to realize that I didn't have the proper seating for a normal six-year-old. It worked. She woke up as soon as I set her down in the passenger's seat.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Ready to go home?" I smiled at that. My home was her home. I could get used to that. She shook her head stubbornly and I laughed. I called Alice as I made my way back to the highway. "Yeah, we're just leaving Boston, now. At least we missed rush hour. It shouldn't take us too long, but I don't have the advantage of a built-in radar detector like you and Edward." She laughed and gave the phone to Esme who was disappointed that I had eaten dinner already. She said she'd make me desert, instead. They were too much, too good to me. I was smiling to myself the entire ride home, as Nessie practiced her fingering on the imaginary keyboard on her lap.

Nessie ate some of Esme's cake with me when we got home, but she was mostly just licking the icing. She couldn't wait until morning to practice some of the things she had learned in her book and she had a captive audience between me and the rest of her family. Rosalie helped her with some of the finer details, and she was ready and willing to move on to the intermediate lesson book before I put my foot down and told her it was time for bed. I said goodnight to everyone as she hugged and kissed her family. I carried her and our bags upstairs. I changed into my pajamas, going shirtless as she changed into hers. I grabbed her gifts and went to meet her in her room. She was standing in front of her bookshelves, trying to find a book for me to read to her when I walked in. I sat in her chaise lounge and hid her presents behind my back. She finally picked a book and sat on my lap.

"What have you got for me tonight?" I picked up the book, reading the title. I was glad it wasn't a romance like Bella liked to read. "_Alice in Wonderland_? I've never read, have you?" She shook her head. "Good. I like doing new stuff with you. Like tonight." I reached behind me and pulled out her snow globe. I know it wasn't a beach rock, but I hoped that it would remind her of our little adventure on our own. I hadn't been this happy in a really long time. It was amazing to me that only 24 hours ago, I had been horribly _un_happy. She smiled when she saw her present, shaking it to watch the "snow" fall. "Like it?" She didn't answer, just replayed her memory of receiving it, so I could feel what she had felt. I loved it when she did that. Did she know that? She didn't move her hand from my cheek as she continued to stare at the snow globe. She showed me another image, I was reading her bedtime story, but we were laying in my bed, not hers. "You're the boss." I kept her other present behind my back as I picked her up and carried her back into my room. I decided to give it to her along with all the other maps I was going to buy her for her birthday.

I dropped her on my bed and made a show of picking up my bag and putting it in the closet to hide the other book. When I got back, she was laying on her side, staring at her snow globe that she had set on one of my bedside tables. I lowered the lights on my huge remote and got under the sheet with her, sitting up against the headboard. She lay down between my legs, resting her head on my lower stomach. I started reading and didn't stop until I heard her blood pressure decrease as she started to fall asleep. I shut the book and put it next to her snow globe. "Ready to go back to your bed, Nessie?" She shook her head, drowsily. I lifted her up and lay her next to me, so that her head was on the second pillow. I turned off the lights and lay down, too. I exhaled a long breath. It had been a long day. A long, exhilarating, wonderful day. She curled up alongside me. I fell asleep with my chin resting on my pillow above the crown of her head, feeling her hot breath hit my collarbone in a steady rhythm, lulling me. My last conscious thoughts were of something Seth had said earlier that had bugged me at the time, but not more than his obnoxious certitude in the optimistic turnout of my relationship with Nessie. _You really haven't figured out that one day you'll add to all those legends?_

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_Author's Note:_ See, Jake ended up having a really good day. To the residents of Boston, I'm sorry that my experience in your city extends no further than Google Maps. I hope that Nessie and Jake get more chances to visit it in the future. To the students of the Berklee College of Music, I hope that outsiders are welcome in your bookstore, or there is someone working there that accepted a very sizable bribe from our favorite psychic vampire.


	5. Book One: Part Five

_Author's Note_: Thank you for all the great reviews and the favorite story adds. It really means a lot. _Ruhnezmay_, whenever my husband gets up from my computer after proof-reading, he now says, "Finally...a Fanfic worth reading!" I roll my eyes every time he does it, but it's adorable and I love it. So, thank you for that.

This part was extremely hard to write. The only thing standing in between me and the first real section I had formed in my mind when creating this FanFic was this filler chapter. It's been hell to not be able to skip forward. One more week, one more week. Filler is not my strong suit and I must have started this three different times before deleting the first five thousand or so words over and over again. So, enjoy the last part of Exposition.

_Stephenie Meyer:_ Thank you so much for thinking up imprinting. Sometimes it makes me sad that such a wonderful thing doesn't really exist in this world. Then again, the fact that all of the characters that you've created and fully own don't exist in this world is enough to make me cry. I take the energy I would use in bawling my eyes out to write and read FanFic, instead.

* * *

***_**  
Good times come and good times go.  
I only wish the good times would last a little longer.**_

--Social Distortion  
_Story of My Life  
_

***

The good feeling that I attributed to being alone with Nessie hadn't wained throughout the last couple of weeks. While we had fallen in to a kind of routine, we had managed to keep a certain spontaneity to our days. There was only one constant, I was taking care of her all on my own. It felt wonderful, natural, perfect. Mornings were fast becoming my favorite part of the day. Her bed remained unslept in. After a couple nights of refusing to go back to her own room after I finished reading to her, I had stopped asking. I woke every morning to find Nessie watching TV. She would sit cross-legged next to me, leaning against my headboard, watching the news with her computer on her lap. She had never really liked cartoons or any other kids' shows, she didn't like anything more than she liked learning. So, whenever the anchors talked about something she had never heard of, she looked it up. When the news channels became repetitive, she switched over to National Geographic or Discovery or any other station that was filled with documentaries. One time, I had even caught her watching the Food Network. She stared at the screen in half-fascination, half-disgust as the hosts chopped, grilled, and fried. When I had laughed, she had stuck her tongue out at me and changed the channel. As soon as I'd wake up, she'd cuddle next to me and we'd finish watching her shows before making plans for the rest of our day. Then, I'd shower and dress and go downstairs to eat breakfast while her aunts played dress-up with her. To Alice's chagrin, I still went shirtless and barefoot most days. I had gotten use to wearing clothes when I went back to school, but after going without this summer, shirts felt itchy to me and shoes felt constricting. At ten, Carlisle would measure her. He only did it once a day, now. His theory on her growth decrease was becoming more and more valid with each passing day.

Nights were spent listening to Nessie play the piano. Within her first week, she had finished all the lesson books we had brought from Boston. She began to play by ear, listening to classical pieces throughout the day and playing them by night. One early evening, as Esme cooked my dinner, Nessie had dragged me into her parents room to look through their CDs. I brought my laptop with me in case there was anything good to rip. Pretty much the only thing I had figured out to do on my computer was put music on my phone. I had to give it to Edward, even though a lot of his CDs are pretty pretentious, he has a lot of rock, too. She found a CD her dad had made for her mom in their room and had learned all of his compositions. She liked the song that he had written for Esme and Carlisle the most. The first song on the CD was the song I had heard him hum the night before the newborn attack, the song Nessie was learning to play as her birthday present. I had heard Edward play it for her since and everyone called it _her _lullaby, but I didn't know he had written it. Figures. Do girls really go for all that cheesy, romantic stuff? I guess Bella does. I hope Nessie won't, or else I'm screwed.

We hunted a couple of times a week, and I let her off the hook from eating normal dinners. I'd rather catch hell for it from Bella and Edward than have to see her scrunch her nose through an unbearable meal. It really didn't bother me that she didn't like eating, that she preferred blood. It probably should have. I remember how horrified I had been watching Bella drink it during her pregnancy. I had dealt with it, though. As soon as I saw how much healthier she had been after drinking it, it was worth my lack of comfort. With Nessie it was even easier to deal with, with Nessie drinking blood meant a lessening of her painful thirst. I know that Bella and Edward were holding out hope that she would grow into a taste for food. Edward, especially, liked to dwell on Nessie's humanity. I didn't mind her appetite, I liked our hunting trips. One more thing we could bond over. I would take down animals beside her, eating her kills, too. I figured it saved Esme from having to cook a few of my meals a week. We always stretched them out to include time to just run, explore. Sometimes her aunts and uncles would come with us, sometimes Esme and Carlisle. It was easier being a wolf now, with my new haircut from Alice. She was excited to finally style a guy's hair knowing that it would grow out and she could try something new. It was still long, for a men's short haircut, she didn't use a razor or anything, but it was nothing compared to my usual shoulder or mid-back length hair. She had showed me how to style it and it was weird not to be able to just put it in a ponytail and let it dry. I didn't use hairspray, though. I'm not Edward.

I caught up with my pack on these outings. It seemed like nothing had changed much at home. Sam and Emily were busy with wedding plans. I found out that Alice had been helping Emily with some wedding ideas. Sam and the rest of his pack weren't so thrilled that Emily was inviting the Cullens, especially since the ceremony would be held on First Beach and the reception was going to be held at the restaurant in the resort on the Rez. Seth told me that Leah had started taking classes at Peninsula College in Forks. I was happy that she was getting her first small step out of La Push. I know that imprinting on Nessie and the Volturi ordeal had prevented our plan of wolfing it. Embry was spending more and more time with his cousins up at the Makah rez. Quil went with him sometimes, so he could see Claire. Seth seemed to spending more and more time on his own. I wondered if Seth would ever rejoin the other pack. I mean, I knew he liked having me as his Alpha, but he didn't like being in the same pack as Leah. Besides, he was too social a guy to run patrols alone, to not have anyone else in his head. I know he had liked the quiet of fewer minds when he had first joined up with me, but was that the case now? Maybe in a year, when he was out of school, he'd go off to college or something, have a life. Maybe he'd even imprint. After a month of everyone adjusting to my absence, it felt like Seth was the only one lonely because of it. He didn't just loose me, either, I found in his thoughts that he missed Nessie, he missed Bella and Edward, he missed the Cullens.

When we weren't hunting or doing things with the rest of the family, Nessie and I hung out in our study. Carlisle had allowed her to wait until the rest of us started school to begin all of her studies, so she just read. She had become fluent in Ancient Greek before we had moved and Edward hadn't started her on a new language. I was beginning to think that he didn't want her to travel until she had already become full-grown. Instead, she was reading the histories of the Roman and Greek empires from ancient historians in the original text. Nerd. I have to admit, though, some of the stuff she would tell me about was kinda interesting I had even paid attention one day while I was eating my dinner, when she had had a conversation with Jasper about some of the wars she had read about. I thought he was only a Civil War buff, but he seemed to have looked into the history of all of humanity's warfare. I spent my time in the study reading those car mechanic books. When I had first put my Rabbit together, all I wanted was to get it running, but learning about engine theory was giving me the itch to performance tune it. One day, I promised myself.

Sometimes, she would read to me, turning the tables on our nighttime ritual. We didn't read the same book as we did at night. Instead, she tried to find a book she thought I would like. So, she was reading _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn _to me. I would lay on our long couch and she would sit on my chest, her back against the couch cushions, her legs hanging off against my side. I loved it. She was way better at it than I was. Not only did she read aloud, she projected her thoughts to me as she was reading. Showing me how her imagination created everything she read. It was exactly like a movie, and I told her so. I told her that it was pure bliss to listen to her voice for such a long period of time, but to see what she saw when she read was amazing. She blushed when I told her that I liked listening to her and, since then, I've noticed that she makes it a point to talk around me more.

It seemed like all the men in Nessie's family were using Edward and Bella's absence to our advantage in some way. None of us ever brought up what her parents would say when they came back and found out what we'd been doing with her. Still, there were knowing looks we all gave each other from time to time to reassure ourselves that we would be going down together. It was hard to tell who would get the most shit from Edward, but it probably came down to me or Jasper. I don't think any of us were really worried about Bella, except maybe Emmett.

Emmett had been using the time to watch non-Edward-approved movies, mostly horror ones. It took him a while to find some that weren't soft-core porn packaged as horror movies, but he did. She loved them. It was odd to me that she instinctively knew that she could not be harmed in the same way the weak humans in the movies were. Still, I convinced Emmett to only put them on for her during the day, I didn't want to risk her having nightmares about them. The only ones I didn't like her watching were the ones where the bad guy wasn't a lame, supernatural thing, just a really sadistic human. I know it should have probably been the opposite, considering that, as far as she knew, all supernatural things _were_ real. Instead, I hoped that she never put it together that sadistic humans were sometimes changed into sadistic vampires.

We spent some early afternoons with Carlisle in his study. He was trying to get her to develop her powers. I had been surprised to learn that she had more than one. He had explained that she was able to break through mental shields, like she broke through Bella's all the time. I felt kind of stupid for not realizing that earlier. Since she couldn't practice that power unless Bella was around, he focused on her thought projections. She was only able to project from her palms, but after a few sessions, she could use the back of her hands. Projections from her wrists, her arms, her neck, and even her head came along soon after. Eventually, he was hoping that any physical contact would do, and then maybe, she might be able to project without any contact at all. It worked when she was unconscious as well. Sometimes, when she fell asleep before I did, I would lean my head against hers on our shared pillow to see her dreams.

I had taken the opportunity to ride my motorcycle with her. We stayed on their property, riding the length of the driveway and back. She loved it. I knew there was no way she'd get hurt and I loved hearing her giggle and scream when I accelerated. After a few days, she was begging to do it on her own, so I taught her. I rode mine while she rode Bella's beside me. I was struck with a sense of deja-vu as I kicked Bella's bike to a start for Nessie. It looked ridiculous for a little girl, no taller than four feet, to be riding on her own and I would laugh over my shoulder when I turned back to look at her.

Jasper had begun teaching her the basics of fighting, everyday, after I finished breakfast. Esme was concerned, at first, but Carlisle had convinced her it would be to Nessie's benefit. She didn't watch, though. I have to admit, as much as I liked the idea of Nessie learning to defend herself, especially because it didn't seem like the Volturi were ever going to be uninterested in her or her family, it _was_ hard to watch. I remembered those days late last year when Edward had refused to help Bella practice. It was easy to understand, now. It took everything I had to not defend her from her family's attacks, so there was no way that _I_ could be the one attacking. Usually it was Alice who was her sparing partner. It was good for both of them, Alice had never fought against someone without using her power, so they were almost at the same skill level. Still, no matter how small Alice was, it was not easy seeing a full-grown vampire charge at a little girl. Especially not for a werewolf. My shaking never really fully subsided during these lessons. Sometimes it would grate on Jasper's nerves and he would calm me. Nessie used her small size to her advantage, and she was soon able to dodge attacks easily. Her offensive skills, though, weren't very good. Alice let her bite her, since she wasn't venomous, but in the two weeks of practice, she had only bit her three times, and never anywhere near the neck.

Today was the Sunday before her parents were due to come back. Rosalie and Esme were inside the house, planning a four-day shopping trip to Boston. The girls had wanted to do something special for the last week before Bella and Edward came home. Not wanting to drive back and forth every day, they were getting us a room for the three nights. Blondie was put-off that I'd be going, too. But I wasn't about to lose any of my remaining time with Nessie, even if it meant carrying around innumerable shopping bags all day. I didn't care that her attention would be elsewhere as she shopped, or that I might be bored while she pranced in and out of dressing rooms all day, I would be with her. That was enough. Jasper and Emmett seemed to have similar feelings about their wives. When Esme decided that she didn't want to be left out of all the fun, she and Carlisle planned to join the rest of us, too.

Carlisle, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Nessie, and I were all in the clearing in the backyard, behind the deck. Jasper was teaching her more aggressive offensive moves as she fought against Alice. They had been at it for almost an hour now, I knew Nessie was getting tired. She usually needed a nap after these lessons. Nessie had pushed off a tree trunk, aiming her body at her aunt's upper back. She was too slow. Alice saw her coming and swatted at her niece while she simultaneously turned her body away from the attack. Alice had meant to just push her away, but her nails dug into Nessie's skin. Her vampire family froze at the smell of her blood. I froze at the sight of it.

Long, red marks were running the length of Nessie's right side. She looked like, like...Emily. I felt sick. She wasn't crying or making any sound at all as she sat on the ground where she had landed. It was her first stumble, her first cut. She was in shock. A second after she was on the floor, I had scooped her up into my arms. Nessie seemed to wake up from her stupor. She looked down at her arm, then at the rest of her family. "Oh." I felt two cold bodies next to mine in a flash, Carlisle and Emmett. I didn't let Nessie go, I just turned our bodies towards the doctor. I was shaking but I only noticed because Nessie's body looked blurred somehow between me and Carlisle.

"Jacob, calm down. She's going to be fine." Carlisle's words did nothing to calm me. How did he know she was going to be okay? She'd never gotten cut before, never gotten hurt. Oh god, this is all my fault. What was I thinking letting her practice with Alice? "Jasper," he called over my shoulder, "calm him, please." I didn't protest. I wasn't letting her go and I couldn't phase with her in my arms. I couldn't afford to hurt her anymore than I had already allowed. "Nessie, does it still hurt?" She shook her head and I assumed she projected through the arm he was holding because he sighed. "Tingling is good, you're healing. Emmett," he called to his son, still standing on my other side, "she needs blood to regain the energy she'll use to heal." Emmett was rushing into the forest before Carlisle had finished his sentence. I heard a sob behind me and I didn't have to look to know that Esme and Rosalie were standing outside of the house on the deck. My eyes were still focused completely on Nessie's eyes as hers had been on mine since I had picked her up off the ground, she hadn't even moved them from me when her grandfather tended to her.

Emmett came running back with a struggling deer in his arms. He snapped its neck a step away from Nessie and then offered it up to her. I sat her upright so she could drink. "I'm so sorry, Nessie." Alice said, stroking Nessie's hair as she sucked at the deer's neck. It took all I had not to growl at her. I knew it wasn't her fault, I blamed myself, mostly. Still... Seeing her face helped, she looked really torn up about the whole thing. Jasper moved forward to comfort his wife. I looked over to his face. I didn't like what I saw. He was staring at Nessie, at the blood still running down her side. I growled. Everyone's eyes snapped to me and then followed my gaze to Jasper. He didn't move, didn't alter his line of sight. "Jazz?" Alice sounded cautious, that wasn't a good sign. I growled louder, deeper in my chest. Nessie had stopped drinking so Emmett dropped the carcass to the ground and went to stand behind his brother.

Jasper moved closer to us, stepping around his wife. What the fuck is he thinking? I bared my teeth at him, letting out the growl that had been contained behind them. "Are you sure about this, Jasper?" I saw the others' heads whip around to face Carlisle and then back to Jasper, I kept my gaze where it was. Sure about what? What is he talking about? I was shaking again. Nessie shifted in my arms, getting a better view of her grandfather and uncle. I held her tightly to my chest. "Do you really think you're ready for this test, son?"

_Test?_ They were going to offer up Nessie as a _test?_ "Fuck that!" It came out like a roar, if I was my wolf-self, it would have come out as an Alpha's command. I walked backwards a few steps. Emmett seemed to share in my opinion. He moved a little closer to Jasper. The shaking in my body was stronger now. Shit. If I can't control this, I'm going to have to give Nessie up. Calm down, Jacob, calm down. I began making contingency plans. If I have to let her go, I can't give her to Carlisle, or Alice. Emmett would be good, but he's busy holding back Jasper. Rosalie? Can I even _do_ that? Yes. I would. For Nessie, I would swallow my pride.

I felt a warm hand on my face and I looked down at Nessie. She didn't show me anything, just stroked my cheek. "I want to help Uncle Jasper." If it was in a wolf to growl at their imprint, this would have been the moment I did it. I couldn't even get words out from my tightly constricted throat. I just shook my head vehemently and held her tighter to me. She struggled in my grip and the shaking got worse. I had to rethink things. I couldn't pass her off to anyone, now. Not while she was willing, no one would say no to her. Maybe I could just throw her up into a tree while I phased and then I could grab the back of her shirt with my teeth and run her away from here. Was that even _plausible?_ I didn't have a chance to test my theory, she squirmed out of my grasp and jumped straight into her uncle's arms. In the same instant that Jasper involuntarily grabbed her, Emmett had a firm grip on his brother's upper arms. She looked at me and smiled, "He won't hurt me, Jacob." She turned to her uncle. His jaw was clenched and he looked focused. "I trust you, Uncle Jazz. It's already healed, you only smell the blood I already spilt." He nodded mutely and bent his head a little, smelling the blood still on her arm. That was it, I lost it. All I saw was red, all I felt was heat. My imprint, the most precious thing in the world to me, was in the arms of a unstable vampire, blood streaming down one side of her body. I involuntarily phased for the first time in over a year. Carlisle rushed over, standing between his newest sons. Smart. He was probably the only one here, besides Esme, who I wouldn't maul to get to Nessie. Of course, the second he lost control, I would rip him in half if it meant getting to Jasper. None of us had moved our eyes from the scene before us. For five minutes we stood in place, the only sound was my never-ceasing growl. Then, suddenly, Jasper looked up, grinning. Nessie and Alice beamed up at him. "See? I told you, Uncle Jasper." He crushed her to him in a hug, ignoring the blood that had wiped off on his neck in the process.

I ran away from the scene as soon as I knew that Nessie was alright. I needed to burn off all the adrenaline that had attacked my body in those five minutes of hell. I hunted for my lunch, not wanting to go back to the house. When I finally did come home, I felt guilty for staying out so long. Nessie didn't stop apologizing and it killed me. After dinner, Nessie called her parents to tell them about our plans for Boston. I spoke to Bella for a few minutes and then left Nessie on the phone while I started upstairs to pack for Boston.

Jasper met me on the second story landing, outside the bedroom he shares with Alice. He was holding a hard-cased piece of luggage. "Alice, um, wanted me to give this to you." I had never seen him nervous, it was a bit ego-boosting in a weird way. He raised his eyebrows, at my emotions, I'm sure. It isn't as annoying as Edward's mind-reading, but it's close enough. "And I wanted to tell you...I'm sorry for putting Nessie in that position. I know she's your responsibility and I know the pain and fear I put you through. It wasn't right. I just want you to know that she wasn't in any real danger. Her blood isn't as appealing as a human's. I was in control. And, you know, she's my niece. I love her. I would rather die myself than hurt her."

I already knew all this. It was what I'd been telling myself over and over again for those five minutes and later, as I ran around the woods. It still hadn't make it any easier when I was in the middle of it. He sensed my acceptance, my understanding, and also the slight grudge I still held. "I know, Jacob. Nessie's well-being isn't worth mine. If it makes you feel any better, as a vampire-killer, she really did help with my thirst control." In a weird way, it sorta did. One less to worry about. "Thanks for not ratting me out to Edward just now." He pointed his thumb back down the staircase.

It had been a one-sided conversation up until now, because of his power. It _was_ like talking to Edward. "I'm not sure I did that for you." I confessed with a grin. "I know Edward would have been on the first plane back, ruining our Boston plans and my last week with Nessie. Plus, I think it will be worse for you if he hears it while you're in the same room and not when he has a fourteen-hour flight to calm down."

He smiled and clapped me on the back. "Fair enough."

Nessie and I had a great time in Boston. The suites they had gotten for all of us were great. Nessie and I shared one and each of the couples got one, too. It was my first real test at a fancy place with the Cullens since the first day here. I seemed to fit in, aside for obviously not being a blood relation to any of them. It was sunny in the late afternoon of Tuesday and I was able to go out again with Nessie on my own. I took her to one of the only places in town her aunts wouldn't care to go, a park. I had seen one near the shopping area we had been to the past two times and I took her there. It was also near Fenway Park. Alice had surprised us on the ride in by telling us she had gotten tickets for a Red Sox night game while we were in town. I took Nessie to the stadium when the game started and they met us after dark. It was my first time at a baseball game, too, and I was just as impressed as Nessie was. Both of our heads swiveled around while we waited for the game to start, taking everything in. I was impressed with Jasper, I'm sure he had never been around thousands of people in such a tight proximity before. He seemed to be really into the game, too, but I guess that was just the excitement of the other fans rubbing off on him. Emmett was less than impressed and laughed at every pop-fly ball and every first baseman's error. Rosalie seemed to be getting off on all the attention she was attracting. I guess that was enough of an outing for her. Carlisle and Esme seemed to be enjoying themselves and I was shocked when Carlisle admitted it was his first game, too. Alice was just happy to have had an excuse to dress us all up in matching uniforms. I taught Nessie how to keep score and ate a dozen hot dogs, just to gross out her and Blondie.

The rest of their time in the city was spent shopping. They took Nessie to FAO Shwartz and told her to go crazy. At first, she didn't find that much. She wasn't interested in dolls or stuffed animals, even though Alice was trying to buy her a five-foot tall, $700, stuffed giraffe. Instead, to her aunts horror, she went straight for the science toys. With Carlisle's help she had picked out a telescope, a chemistry set, and two huge Erector sets. Esme helped her pick out some sewing and knitting crafts and promised to help teach her. Emmett talked her into buying some board games so that he could "kick her ass" at them. He got a lecture from his wife and his mother about that. Her aunts wanted to get her a scooter and a bike and skates. I didn't see much of a point, considering she could run. She ended up getting only the inline skates. She told me later that she bought them so that she could see how fast she could go if she ran with them on. Jasper and I entertained ourselves with two plastic light sabers, until Carlisle told us that we were swinging them too fast. I was surprised that they didn't break with the force we were using on them. Two hours and hundreds of dollars later, we left the toy store and its annoying repeating song, which Emmett had managed to make up dirty lyrics to.

***

Without coming right out and saying it, all of us knew that Jasper's lessons would be canceled until Edward allowed them to continue. So, now that we were back in town, Nessie and I found our late morning empty. The day before her parents came back, we spent our little free riding our motorcycles. Alice had bought us helmets and jackets, to butter Edward up a little when he found out and because Carlisle had forbid me to ride to school without a helmet. Even though New Hampshire didn't have a motorcycle helmet law, Vermont did. Then, we washed my car and motorcycle, and we changed all the fluids in them. I still hadn't decided which to take to school.

A small section of the garage had been cornered off as my area. It was obvious to tell which tools were mine, the ones that were old and mismatched. Emmett walked in while I was cleaning up. I had already sent Nessie inside to bathe. "When are you guys going to see the Hanover house?" I shrugged. I was half-intrigued with what they would do to make it look like a typical college house.

I was even more curious because that was the residence that Carlisle had given the school when he enrolled me. I had already decided on my cover story. Esme was my aunt, her sister was my mother, and, with my mom dead, my dad couldn't handle a "troubled" teen. So, when my aunt and uncle moved out here, I came with them. I thought it was pretty amusing, seeing as I really had thought that the pack _was_ a gang before I phased for the first time, a really lame gang, but a gang nonetheless. I guess Embry's mom still does. Plus, I really didn't feel comfortable saying that my dad was dead. Having lost a mom, it's not something you take lightly.

So, Carlisle had emancipation papers forged. Everyone would know that I didn't necessarily live in the Cullen's New Hampshire residence, but with my "cousin," Edward, and my best friend, Bella, at their off-campus place.

"C'mon, go get Nessie, I'll try and keep the tour PG-13."

"You know she's only six, right?"

He hadn't even acknowledge that I had said anything, he just walked back to the house. "Jasper, you coming?"

"Welcome to our den of sin." I laughed as Emmett dramatically threw open the front door for us. I let Nessie walk in first and was thankful that Edward wasn't here for what I was assured would be a colorful tour. We walked into a large living room. It looked, well, it looked _perfect_. The biggest flat screen I had ever seen was on one wall and there was a huge overstuffed sectional opposite it that could easily fit a dozen of my brothers. All around the room were speakers, some were on the floor, some were on the walls. Under the TV, on a large stand, was a stereo, every video game console on the market, and a computer tower. On one side of the TV were two over-sized bookshelves filled with DVDs and video games, on the other side was an identical set of bookshelves filled with even more DVDs and CDs. He walked over to them, gesturing to one side. "Video games and movies," he gestured to the other side, "TV shows and CDs." He and Jasper smiled at my hanging jaw.

We continued on through the house. "The kitchen, eh, who cares? We'll call it the liquor room." I laughed again. He took a step and then stopped abruptly. "You want a beer?"

"You guys already bought alcohol?" Emmett just shrugged.

"Take one if you want one, we'll keep it from Edward." Jasper gestured to the fridge.

"Yeah, unless you do something really stupid when you're wasted, I won't promise not to replay that in my head _all_ the time."

I glanced over at Nessie, who was still looking at all the CDs on the shelf. "Nah. Next time."

We went into what would normally be the office of the house. I was blinded by neon. There was a large pool table in the middle of the room and along the walls were vintage arcade games. They had random neon liquor signs, an "open" sign, and even a "girls girls girls" sign. How the hell had they talked their wives into letting them do all this? How had they talked _Edward _into all of this?

"Oh, Jasper," he sighed, nostalgically, stroking the side of one of the tall machines. "Remember the summer that we got Galaxian?"

"I remember Rosalie breaking it into pieces when you ignored her for an entire day playing it."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault. I had never played a video game before, how was I supposed to know I'd get addicted? Besides, I coughed up the money for the next one."

They had _everything_! Frogger, Pac-Man, Street Fighter II _and_ Mortal Kombat, Pong, Donkey Kong, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Area 51, and even DDR. Each game even had a stool, although they really didn't need it. I moaned in pure delight. Nessie had come into the room and looked up at me like I was crazy. "You don't understand, Nessie, this is my _childhood_. Every Saturday when I was a kid, I'd meet up with Quil and Embry and we'd play these games at the two places on the Rez that had them, the market and the laundromat. We'd take turns blowing our allowance and go home happy." She just rolled her eyes. I couldn't wait to phase and tell Embry and Quil. For two guys who hadn't been teenagers for more than 50 and 100 years, they sure knew how to put together a teenage boy's dream house.

"But, wait...there's more." Emmett walked over to the a pair of French doors that led outside and showed us the backyard. There was a long awning that covered the patio right up to where it met the grass. "Shade," he said, off-handedly. Under the awning was a huge hot tub.

Huh? "But you guys won't even really feel the warmth of the water."

"Rosalie doesn't feel the water, but she sure as fuck feels the jets." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

Nessie's eyes had widened. Just from the cussing, I hoped. "PG-13, remember, Em?"

"Whatever." He waved an arm in our direction. "Let's go upstairs, I'll show you the bedrooms."

We walked back inside and up the flight of stairs. Jasper opened the first door on the right. "We promised Alice and Rosalie that they could have full control over the rooms at the main house, if we got these. I don't think they were thinking when they took us up on it, we never have any control over our rooms, anyway." The room was full of black leather furniture. A leather couch, a leather armchair, a leather desk chair in front of a black wood desk, and even a leather headboard on the bed. There were a collection of guitars on display stands, acoustic, electric, and bass. Above the desk was a framed map of the Republic of Texas, yellowing with age. On the wall next to it was a display box with a battered and bloodied Confederate army uniform mounted inside. A Confederate flag and a Texas flag, both just as battered, were in separate frames next to it.

"You're such a hick, Jazz. What, no banjos?" He socked me on the arm, but he could feel the playfulness behind my words. Nessie had walked up to his old uniform. She looked back and forth between her uncle and the garment, obviously in awe. "Don't look too impressed, Nessie, they lost." Emmett busted up, Jasper just projected a pretty good dose of fear on me. When it was over, I rolled my eyes at him. "Gotta do that because you know you don't scare me, eh?" And with that, Jasper and I became the first to wrestle each other in the backyard. Fortunately, the walls back there were tall enough to cover a nine-foot wolf. Unfortunately, Quil was phased at the time and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Jasper attacking me. I had to surrender, just to explain everything before he called for reinforcements. Not that they could have done much good three thousand miles away. I just didn't want it getting back to Sam.

We walked back inside to find Nessie listening to a CD on the stereo system, looking up things about Texas online. I shook my head with a smile. That girl was too much for me sometimes. While Jasper gave her a history lesson that she eagerly absorbed, Emmett led me upstairs to the room at the end of the hall. He was grinning stupidly. "Okay," he said as he turned the door knob, "no one under 18 allowed behind the curtain."

I rolled my eyes. "You know I'm 17, right?"

"Whatever." That was becoming his favorite word today. "Fine, you'll walk in a boy, you'll walk out a man."

"You don't have a hooker waiting in there for me, right?"

"Just get in there. And, remember, feel free to ask any questions." He winked at me.

We walked inside. The first thing I saw, and that's saying something, because there was a lot to take in, was the swing. At first, I thought it was just a weird hammock or some exercise machine, until I saw the straps. As I turned around to gawk at Emmett, who was just standing there with a shit-eating grin on his face, I saw was the huge Kama Sutra poster. It was hanging on the only wall that wasn't covered in mirrors, the same wall that the door was on. The entire ceiling was covered in mirrors, too. The bed had red satin sheets on them and there were various bottles of lotions and jellies on the bedside tables. There were chains hanging from bolted hooks on the wall behind the headboard. Steel chains. I guess handcuffs were too flimsy for vampires, I didn't know what good chains would do. As I turned in a circle on the spot, my mouth dropped open. The dresser. Every single piece of sex toy that anyone had ever dreamed up was sitting on that dresser. I couldn't even figure out where half of them went or what half of them did, but they were all there. The crazy thing is, they were set out just as neatly and with the same thoughtfulness that Jasper had used when displaying his old army uniform. And then, just when I thought I had seen all there was to see, Emmett pulled out a huge remote from nowhere, pressed something, and the floor lamps next to the bed turned on. Except they weren't just floor lamps, they were professional photographic lighting lamps. He pressed something else and the footboard of the bed opened up and a flat screen popped out of the hole. He pressed another button and a smaller hole opened on the footboard, a small video camera on a tripod popped up from it. I didn't have to look to know that the video was being transmitted directly to the TV screen.

"You want to see the bathroom?" I shook my head, mutely. He laughed. "Too much for you, little boy?"

That pissed me off. "Why the fuck would you even _show_ this to me?" He just laughed again and walked out of the room. I followed him. "Jesus, Emmett, you really should have warned me better than that. I mean, after the hot tub I was expecting _something_, just not _everything_."

He just shrugged, he still had that same smug grin on his face. "It's just that I know that Esme won't ever see this room. We've moved out on our own every once in a while and had rooms like this, but I know Rose won't leave Nessie until she's grown. Not that I would want to, either. So when she gave me free reign, I abused that shit. It's not like we're going to be here doing much else, anyway. That's why the girls let us decorate these rooms in the first place, so I figured I might as well go all out. The "girls girls girls" sign was actually supposed to go in our room, but she said it was too much. I didn't complain, it _was_ kinda fucking with the lighting, so we moved it to the game room. It's not my fault Jasper's a pussy who just wants to show off his glory days in the war. Or that Edward's an even bigger pussy who just wants a nice quiet place to play his piano."

I laughed at that. "That's what's in Bella and Edward's room?"

"Well, I mean, there's a bed and everything, but there's mostly just a stereo system and a piano. It's almost exactly like the room he had at the other house. We wouldn't let him put the piano downstairs and ruin the kick-ass vibe we've got going, so, he had to fit it in their bedroom."

He walked to the next door on his left. I was surprised that there were so many rooms in this house. Edward had sold the initial house he had bought because it was huge, meant for the entire family, and in too secluded an area for students. "And, this..." he opened the door, "is your room." The king size bed took up most of the room. I had a desk here, too. I guess that made sense. I didn't plan on staying in town after school, but if I did, I could do my homework here. I also had a fully stocked closet. Although, I noticed there were a lot more casual clothes here, no suits like I had at the main house. There was also a dresser with stereo on it and a flat-screen opposite the bed. More shit? Without the furniture, on technology alone, the Cullens had obviously spent thousands on me. I wondered again who had paid for it. I tried not to think about it. _Gracefully._ It had been a while since I had to remind myself that. I guess it was getting easier. The colors in the room were a lot lighter than my other room. My bed, dresser and desk were both made from light wood and the fabric and paints in the room were mostly light greens and blues. "We gave you the room with the biggest bathroom. Well, except for Bella and Edward's, they got the master bedroom." I wasn't going to bother going in, because I used to believe a bathroom's a bathroom. Until I saw my bathroom at the other house. So, I peeked in. Sure enough, the same enormous shower/tub was there.

When I turned from the bathroom, Nessie was standing in the doorway. "Did you help with this room, too?" She nodded. "Thanks, Nessie. I love it." She smiled, modestly.

We went back downstairs and played some arcade games for a while. A lot of the old games were boring for her, they invoked no nostalgia so they just seemed slow. She liked DDR, though, and with her reflexes, she was good at it. I think she liked listening to the different songs, too. I doubt Edward had put any trance music in her mp3 player.

Overall, we spent a good three hours at the other house. We went back to the main house and had a normal night, our last one before her parents came back. Nessie practiced her piano for hours, trying to make up for the time lost in Boston. I sat next to her on the bench, playing with her hair. When she was done for the day, asked her if she wanted to go on a night hunt. I knew I was probably pushing her too much, she had had a full day, but I also knew she never said no to a night hunt. I just didn't want the night to end, _my_ last night. She was asleep before I could even read to her. I sat up in bed, rubbing circles on her back, while I watched the opening of an SNL rerun and set up recordings for all the upcoming fall season premieres. There was a knock on my door that I didn't expect. No one, except Nessie and Bella, had been in my room since that first night. "Come in," I whispered.

Emmett walked through the door. "Why are you whispering?" Though he was whispering, himself. "Oh." He saw Nessie laying next to me. "She passes out here every night?"

I nodded. "What's up?"

"You're coming back to the other house."

"I told you, I'm not going to give you a rematch at Pac-Man."

"The joystick was stuck!" I waved my arm frantically as his voice went from a whisper to a shout. "Sorry." He rolled his eyes and lowered his voice. "It's not about that. Jazz and I have a little surprise for you."

***

I woke up thankful that I couldn't get a hang-over and that I couldn't remember much of what happened last night. Their surprise had been a dozen six-packs of imported beer and a bottle of expensive tequila. When I opened my eyes, Nessie was half-way across the bed from me. She saw me move and shot me a disgusted look. What was that about? "Morning, Nessie." She wrinkled her nose at me. _Oh._ I reeked. "Sorry." I sat up and stretched, trying to piece last night together. Oh well. Edward will be home soon, maybe it was better that I didn't have any memories to think about while he was around. I doubt he would approve of my underage drinking. I got up and took a shower. She was still sitting on my bed when I came out, dressed. "Excited that your parents are coming home?" She nodded but didn't smile. "Nervous?"

She nodded. "I don't want anyone getting in trouble."

I went to sit next to her, dropping all my weight on the bed hard, so that she bounced a little beside me. I got a smile out of her, but not a giggle like I usually do when I do that. "Oh, honey, you know your dad. He'll get upset at first, but then your mom will talk to him and everything will be fine. He doesn't even have a lot to be mad at us about."

She rolled her eyes and started ticking our offenses off on her fingers. "I haven't had any food since they left...Uncle Em has been showing me movies with cuss words..." I thought it was hilarious that she didn't even think anything of the blood and guts in all those movies, just the cuss words. "I've been riding on Momma's motorcycle...Uncle Jazz has been teaching me how to fight...and..." We both knew what the last one was. Her uncle had almost hurt her. Well, not really, but that's how Edward's going to see it. I guess it did look pretty bad when you put it all in a list like that. "You really think my mom's not going to get just as mad as my dad?" She had a point. I didn't tell her that.

Emmett and Jasper had gone out hunting, so I didn't get a chance to ask them what the hell had happened last night. Everyone else seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. We were worried about Edward's reaction to everything that had happened these past three weeks. I knew that there was no way we could all keep our thoughts from him. It was hard enough hiding one thing, let alone five. I just wanted to be able to get home before he blew up at me. I wasn't a rat, I wouldn't pass the buck, but I did want to be standing in the middle of my co-conspirators while I was on trial.

I sat with Nessie at the piano until it was time to go. We took Edward's Volvo into Boston. Nessie was quiet, which, ordinarily, wouldn't have meant much. But this silence hung heavy in the air, full of anxiety. I reached over and took her tiny hand in mine. "Don't worry about it, Nessie. Your uncles and I did everything knowing that we'd have to own up to it eventually. And it's not your fault." She had been looking out the window, but when I said that, her head snapped around to face me. "I know that's what you were thinking." She looked at our hands. "No, you weren't projecting." I rolled my eyes. "You're just exactly like your mother. None of this is your fault. You didn't ask us to do anything and we all did it just as much for our own enjoyment as we did for yours."

As soon as we got near the spot that we had deemed in Edward's "earshot," Nessie put the radio on full-blast. I had already come prepared with a safe topic: school. It was believable that it would be consuming a majority of my thoughts. I was, after all, starting tomorrow. Before we were in hearing range, I asked Nessie what she would be thinking about. She took my hand, again, and showed me a scene from _Huckleberry Finn_, the way she projects it when she's reading to me. "He's going to know you're hiding something." She showed me the same thing she had showed Edward when we dropped them off at the airport, a big, gift-wrapped box for Bella. "Perfect. I think I may use that, too, if he realizes out I'm trying to keep him out."

Of course, Edward figured it out. The second we pulled over into the loading zone, he shot us knowing looks. I ignored them, getting out of the car and hugging Bella before helping load the luggage in the trunk. "What are you two hiding from me?" He waited until Bella and Nessie were in the car, catching up, to growl at me under his breath.

"Nothing. I just don't want to ruin Nessie's surprise for Bella." I got back in the car and concentrated on all the school supplies Alice had ordered for me online as we drove back home. The over-sized pens and mechanical pencils she had found, the spiral-bound notebooks, the day planner I would never use. That made me think about all the other stuff she bought that I didn't need. An eight-pack of highlighters, liquid and tape white-out, a mini stapler, and even an electronic dictionary. We were half-way out of the Boston by the time I had exhausted_ that _train of thought. How she managed to over-shop for something as boring as school supplies astounded me. I hadn't even known that anyone _made_ miniature tape dispensers. Half the stuff was still sitting in its packaging, hidden in one of my desk drawers.

After talking about the island and Rio and all the things they did, Bella turned around in her seat, facing us. Then she asked the one question that I had been dreading. "So, what have you guys been up to?" I stopped my mind before it went in too many wrong directions. Thankfully, Nessie's vampiric brain worked much faster than my werewolf one and she was able to answer her mother easily. She talked about the hunting and exploring we had done in the woods. That led me to think about my chats with Seth. I knew she liked keeping up on all the La Push news, so I told her about Leah starting school and Embry spending more and more time up at Neah Bay. Then, Nessie started talking about all the history books she'd been reading, and I took it as a good opportunity to take a nap and block Edward out completely.

I woke up when Edward's 120 mph speed turned into the 60 mph he used on the long driveway to the house. "He's waking up."

Someone must have asked if I was still asleep. I felt Nessie stroke my arm and I was going to sit up and stretch when I heard her say, "He didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Shit. Did she wake up in the middle of the night and I wasn't there?

The car accelerated unnecessarily and Edward growled. Bella reached across the center console, towards him. "What? What's wrong, Edward?" He came to an abrupt stop in front of the front steps and I was thankful that Nessie had been wearing her seatbelt. "_Edward!_"

He ignored his wife's scolding tone and turned around to face his daughter. "_What_ did he smell like, Nessie?" Aw, fuck. I tried to keep my emotions off my face. Nessie hadn't known any better and I didn't want to make her feel guilty for unintentionally ratting me out. I grabbed her hand and shook my head at her worried face while her dad growled again from the driver's seat.

"Edward. What is going on?"

"It seems that our daughter has been sleeping in Jacob's bed the entire time we've been gone." Jesus, he's pissed about _that?_ Why does he have to make me sound like a pedophile all the time? It seemed like Bella didn't think much of us sleeping in the same bed, either. She still looked confused as to why he had freaked out so much. "And, last night, my brothers got him drunk."

Both Nessie's and Bella's heads whipped towards me at the same time. "You got drunk?" It almost sounded like Bella was impressed. Like she had when I told her about Sam's "gang" for the first time. Edward noticed her tone, too, and stormed out of the car. She lowered her voice so that her husband, now unloading their luggage from the trunk, couldn't hear. "What was it like?"

I shrugged, grinning. I figured I was off the hook for the time being, might as well have a laugh with my best friend. "Honestly, Bells? I can't really remember." She rolled her eyes and got out of the car. Nessie and I followed her. I walked around the back of the car in time to see Edward slam the trunk closed. He wouldn't let me help him with any of their bags as he climbed the front steps.

"Edward, don't you think you're being a little unreasonable?" I shot Nessie an I-told-you-so look. I knew Bella would try to talk some sense into him.

"I'm not being unreasonable, I just need to have a little talk with my brothers." He opened the doors and went inside. The entire family was in the living room before Bella, Nessie and I had walked through the door. Alice, Rosalie, and Esme all started to welcome them home. And then they saw Edward's face. "Jasper, Emmett..." Jasper evenly met his brother's gaze from across the room, but Emmett's eyes just widened.

"Bro, calm down. I can explain. We all can."

All can? Oh, shit. He doesn't know what he's doing. "Emmett—"

I wasn't cut off by the look that Edward was throwing me, his dumb ass brother screwed everything up all on his own. "No, Jake, it's okay. Now, what's this about?"

"You guys—" Edward, not Emmett, cut off my warning this time.

"I think you all," he looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes, "know what this is about." Fucking Eddie's playing _all_ of them. Jasper seemed to realize this, too. He walked towards Emmett, to shut him up, I guess. But it was too late. Edward's eyes flew around the room. He was listening to everyone unintentionally spilling their guts at the same time. I just stood there, shaking my head. I met Jasper's eye and he nodded at me. Good, he was still hiding his thoughts. Not like it mattered, _now_. When it was over, Edward turned towards Nessie, standing next to me. "Why don't you go upstairs, sweetheart?" She looked pissed. She never liked to be left out of these things. She never liked to be seen as the one outside the group, the child in the middle of adults. "Your mother will be up soon to tuck you in." I gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her it would all be okay before she stomped up the stairs. "_Your_ room, Nessie." He called up after her. She sighed in agitation at the same time I did. Only Bella smiled. She was the only one still unaware of all the tension in the room. All the unsaid confessions.

She waited until her daughter slammed our hallway door to speak. "Oh, Edward, calm down. Who cares if Jake got drunk? Nessie didn't even know until..." But she trailed off when she saw the look on her family's faces. Emmett had literally slapped his forehead as he shook his head at his own stupidity and Jasper and Edward were locked in an epic staring contest.

"Bella, love, why don't we sit down so I can tell you what Renesmee has been up to these past few weeks." She looked confused but sat down next to him on the love seat, facing her family. "Last night Jasper and Emmett got Jacob drunk so that Jasper could feel Jacob's inebriation and project it on to Emmett." What? I knew I should probably be pissed, but all I could do is laugh. No wonder I can't remember them drinking.

Emmett, seemingly forgetting the tense mood, winked at me. "Pretty good idea, huh? I have to give Jazz the credit, though. He thought of it yesterday when he offered you a beer during your tour."

"Emmett," Edward went on as though no one had spoken, though he obviously was singling Emmett out for his interruption "Thought it would be a good idea to watch horror movies with our six-year-old. Jacob, apparently, agreed." Wait a second. How did _I_ get involved in this? He turned away from Bella to yell directly at me. "You got involved, _Jacob_, when we trusted you with our little girl and you allowed my brother to show her these movies!" _Allowed?_ I rolled my eyes. Come on. "'Just don't show her these movies at night, Em. I don't want her getting nightmares.' Does that sound familiar?" Damn vampires and their stupid perfect memory. "Don't act as though you _didn't_ watch them along with them."

"Hey," I defended myself, "I only did that to make sure that Emmett skipped all the sex scenes." And because I can't stand to be away from her.

He ignored me. "Carlisle has been teaching our daughter to expand upon her powers. She can already project through her arms, neck, and head. Esme has been making dinners for Jacob, but our daughter hasn't been eating anything."

"Hold on." I looked at Esme. "That's not you're doing, Esme." I turned back to Edward. "I told Nessie she didn't have to eat if she didn't want to. That one's all on me."

His eyes snapped to meet mine and the look in them was murderous. "Don't think for one second, mongrel, that I don't now that you're responsible for _everything _that happened while we were gone." He softened his eyes as he turned back towards his still mute wife, but his tone was still as accusatory as ever. "_Jacob_, love, in addition to completely ignoring every rule we laid down before leaving, has been teaching our six-year-old daughter to ride your motorcycle."

She sure took that one in. "You did _what?_" For once, Edward looked pleased with her response to something he had said.

"Oh, come on, Bells. You know she has better reflexes than you ever did. Besides, she has a jacket and helmet and everything."

"You've never made her use them. Alice only bought them _after_ you started riding to appease _us _in this very conversation."

Someone really spilled everything, didn't they? I groaned in frustration. "It's not like she could get hurt!"

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. Edward picked up on something someone was thinking and then, suddenly, he was hissing. In one fluid motion, he was off the couch and standing in front of Jasper in a crouch. Shit. Jasper didn't move an inch, didn't blink, didn't stiffen. "Just let me show you, Edward." He didn't move when Edward growled at him, he just closed his eyes, replaying the scene for his brother. No one else had sat down, but Bella and Edward, and they all slowly went to move to stand between their brothers, their sons. I wondered why Jasper didn't just calm him, I wonder if he thought that it would be worse for him once Edward regained control of his emotions.

Bella realized she had been left out of a very important loop. She looked over at me to help fill her in. I didn't know whether I should tell her or not. What if I gave too much away, told her something that Jasper hadn't shown Edward. It was a possibility. Slim, but there. Still, my loyalties are with Bella first. Well, second only to Nessie. "Jasper's been teaching Nessie to fight."

So much for loyalty. She hissed as she turned on me. "You let my baby _fight? _Against whom? A werewolf? Full-grown vampires? What were you _thinking? _What if she got hurt? Huh? What then?" I don't know what my face looked like, but the next sound out of her mouth was the most melodic screech I had ever heard. "She got _hurt?_ Who hurt her?" She spun on her heels, facing the rest of her family. She took in everyone's stances. Edward was still growling in Jasper's face. "_Jasper? _You let our little girl fight _Jasper?_"

"Of course not! Jesus, Bells, give us some credit. Give _me_ some credit. She only fights against Alice because she can't even use her visions. It's a fair fight, Bells. Trust me."

"I wanted to trust you, Jacob. The whole time we were gone I kept reassuring Edward. 'Renesmee's fine, Jacob is looking after her.' What a fool I was." She shook her head, laughing slightly hysterically. Then, instantly, her tone was menacing. "You let her get hurt, Jacob Black. You let her get hurt and I'm supposed to trust you?" Christ, she hadn't even heard the worst of it. No wonder Edward's still foaming at the mouth. Jasper _had _to have finished telling him everything by now. I guess it did take me a couple of hours to get over it myself. Still, I had been there, in the moment, not knowing the outcome. The only reason I didn't rip Jasper apart while it was happening was because Carlisle was in between us. Edward's growling stopped for a second as he looked over at his father. Shit! This had to stop.

"Listen to me, Bella, Edward. You just spent two hours with your daughter. She's fine. She's healthy. You know that Nessie is okay, why is this so hard for you guys to deal with." Edward threw a growl at me over his shoulder and Bella's eyes narrowed. "Calm down, Bella or I won't tell you what Edward's really angry about and it doesn't seem like your husband can make any noises except growls right now." She opened her mouth and then thought better of it. I waited half a beat before I started. "Jasper was teaching her some offensive moves. See, she's really good at dodging attacks, you should see her, Bells. Anyway," I hurried on with the story after seeing the look of impatience on her face, "everything was fine and then Nessie accidentally—"

"It was my fault." Alice interrupted me.

"It wasn't—" Her husband tried to defend her.

Alice silenced her husband with a hand. "It was, Jasper. I only meant to push her away from me, and I must have gotten some of her skin with my nails. She was bleeding and Jasper was controlling himself and she jumped into his arms to help test him." Bella hissed, Edward's growls deepened.

Christ, they were both drama queens. "You guys are acting like you don't know the end of the story. She's _fine_. She only wanted to help her uncle with his thirst, and she did. You guys are both overreacting, he didn't hurt her, he _couldn't_ hurt her."

"And were _you _so okay with it?"

"Of course not, Bells. I phased right out of my fucking clothes, I had to run for hours to calm myself down enough to phase back. But I should have trusted him, and if it happened tomorrow, I wouldn't think anything of it. He went to a baseball game, for Christ's sake, with a stadium full of humans, and he was fine. The both of you need to calm down."

Carlisle took a step closer to Edward, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "He's right, Edward. You need to let this aggression go." He growled at Carlisle and, suddenly, the atmosphere changed, he had gone too far.

Jasper's stance shifted. He was no longer allowing Edward an unearned position of dominance. "Enough, Edward. What are you even upset about? The fact that I was training your daughter, that she got hurt, or that I handled myself around her blood?" That was actually a good question. Everyone knew that Edward would be this pissed off if Jasper had only been trained her, injury or not. And we all knew Nessie was fine. In a horrible way, it finally allowed us to see what would happen if she got hurt. And it happened right in front of Carlisle, in a controlled environment. So, why was he hiding behind this ridiculous notion that Jasper had put her in danger? Why wasn't he talking about what was really pissing him off? "It was a fluke accident, I'm sure when we practice again—"

_"_There's no way in hell I'm letting you _near_ her, let alone allowing you to continue teaching her how to almost _killed _my daughter." Of course that's the way Edward would spin it. I groaned again in frustration. This time, Emmett groaned with me.

"No, he didn't, Daddy." All of our heads looked up towards the voice coming down the stairs, even Jasper and Edward broke off their staring contest for a fraction of a second.

"Renesmee, your father told you to go to your room." You could tell that she was starting to come around, though. That even she thought Edward had gone too far when he growled at Carlisle.

"No, Momma. Not until Daddy stops being mean to Uncle Jasper. He's helping me by teaching me how to fight and I helped him with his thirst. He didn't do anything wrong, Daddy. _I'm_ the one that made him catch me. _I'm_ the one that told Jacob not to do anything even though I know it was hurting him. He phased to protect me, Daddy, Uncle Emmett was holding on to Uncle Jasper the whole time, and grandpa was right there, too. I was safe and I wanted to help. I don't want Uncle Jazz to be hurting all the time, especially not because of _my_ blood." It was so simple when it was put that way. Edward _had_ to stop, right?

"Go. To. Your. Room." He growled at her, fucking _growled_ at her. Her footsteps stopped. He had scared her. I growled, but didn't move. I was torn, run up to comfort Nessie or kick Edward's ass? Nessie made my decision for me when I heard her mewl my name from the second story landing.

As I hugged Nessie to me, Bella finally took her head out of her ass. "Edward. I need to speak to you. Outside." He didn't move, he only continued his growling. She wedged herself in between her husband and her brother, her back to Jasper. Edward got out of crouch as soon as she was in front of him. Grabbing him by the arm, she turned and looked up at me and Nessie. "Take her to bed, Jacob, and go to sleep, you have school tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of having to go to high school with a bunch of humans tomorrow, just hours after an intense vampiric family dispute. Funny how I used to cling to that title of human only a year and a half ago. Now, with Nessie, I'm much better at accepting my supernatural lot in life. "I'm sorry about everything, Bells. You know she was never in any danger, right? I couldn't do that to her." Nessie buried her head into my neck, as if to tell me that _she _knew that.

"I'll always trust you with her, Jake." Edward growled his disagreement and she ignored him. "It just wasn't the homecoming I was expecting. I don't like to be blindsided like this. Everybody just did whatever they wanted with our kid, completely ignoring our wishes."

I nodded, understandingly. "I _am _sorry. Love you, Bells."

She sighed. "Love you, too, Jake."

"Night, everyone." Only Alice, Carlisle and Esme said goodnight back. Everyone looked shamed by Bella's words. "Say goodnight to everyone, honey." I whispered in Nessie's ear, knowing everyone probably heard me, anyway.

She took her face out of my neck and turned around, looking over the banister at her family. "Goodnight, everybody. Goodnight, Momma. Goodnight, Daddy. I love you." I saw Edward's shoulders fall in defeat.

***

I woke up the next morning, turning on my side and stared at Nessie for about five minutes, just thinking. About yesterday, the past three weeks, the past year, all the years to come. Her head was sharing my pillow like always and she looked beautiful as I played with her curls. Today, more than any other day since the move, I was glad I came. If I were living in La Push, even if she were still living in Forks, I would have never had the opportunity to wake up next to her on her first birthday. First birthday, it was odd to apply that to the six-year-old-looking one-year-old sleeping next to me. I had completely stopped caring about my birthday since I imprinted. That wasn't really an uncommon occurrence in wolves, your imprint's birthday, the day you imprinted, the day you phased, there are so many other days that seem to hold more significance. But for me, it was a two-fold apathy. The second half of my apathy sprang from the fact that I would never get older. All the other wolves will stop phasing one day, they'll celebrate their fiftieth birthday looking fifty. I, on the other hand, will always look exactly the same as I do now. I had known this since the day Nahuel showed up in that clearing and told us that he was immortally young.

I left her laying in the bed while I went to shower and dress. I felt first-day-of-school nerves. I knew it was stupid. I had faced a pack of wild, dangerous newborn vampires, but a couple hundred teenagers scare the crap out of me. I wish I just knew what to expect. Hanover was a small town, but it was New York compared to La Push. I had already been to the school, two weeks ago with Carlisle. It had been the longest I was away from Nessie since we had moved. I guess it was fitting, the high school would be the place that took me away from her the most. We had sat down with a counselor who had fixed my class schedule and given us a tour of the campus. The schedule was the first thing that freaked me out. There was no set lunch at the school, you just picked your classes and ate lunch when you had free time. Seniors could leave the school during this time and I was considering it, especially now that I've seen the second house. The other thing that freaked me out about the scheduling was the variety of classes they had, I was taking Wood Sculpting and Auto Shop, just to fill out my schedule. The school was enormous for the amount of students that went there. There were labs for everything, not just one computer lab, like we had in La Push. The sport fields were meticulous, in La Push we didn't even have sports teams. It was just going to be a lot to get used to.

I had always felt uncomfortable around people with money. Made painfully obvious by my break-down on the first night. I had once been an ass to Bella, asking her if she was only dating Edward because he was rich, but it was only because I felt insecure about my tiny house, old car, and makeshift garage. It was weird that, to these rich kids at my new school, I would be just like one of them. Then again, they'd see my Rabbit, my bike, then they'd know. They'd find out that I grew up on a reservation, only out here to mooch off my rich aunt and her rich, surgeon husband, then they'd know. Maybe they'd know more about the truth of my situation than I'd thought. Well, that settles it, I'm definitely riding my bike to school while the weather's still good. Might as well complete the whole bad-boy-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks thing I had going.

I finished in the bathroom and walked into the closet. Nessie had left me a note. I loved her handwriting, neat and perfect but still kid-like.

_Jacob,_

_Aunt Alice and I have already picked out your outfit for the first day of school. It's hanging on the outside of your door to the hallway. _

_Nessie_

I made sure Nessie was still sleeping before walking through my room in my undies to find the clothes I needed to wear today. It looked simple enough, dark jeans and a black screen tee. There was a huge brand symbol on the back pockets of the jeans and on the chest of the shirt, but I had no idea what they were, so I ignored them. I was surprised that the jeans fit me so well. It was the first time I had worn long pants and I was surprised that they fit my legs without looking too baggy and that they actually went down and even bunched a little at my feet. Which reminded me...shoes. There were some black Converses on the floor of my closet which I thought were simple enough. I realized too late that I should be wearing socks. Oh well. This whole shirt and shoes thing was still a vague memory from my last days at school in La Push.

I sat down at the edge of the bed and rubbed a large circle on her back. I was surprised Bella hadn't come knocking on my door this morning. Hell, I'm surprised Alice didn't call in the whole family to wake us both up with a rendition of Happy Birthday. I wonder if everyone is still cooling off from yesterday or if they settled things overnight. I bent down so that I could whisper in her ear. "Nessie?" She stirred a little, but didn't open her eyes. "Wake up, birthday girl." She groaned, but smiled. "C'mon, Nessie, honey. You better wake up or I'll go get Alice." She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and sticking her tongue out at me. I gave her a hug. "Happy Birthday, Renesmee." She blushed when I used her full name. "Would you mind joining me for breakfast before I have to go to school?" Her face turned sour and she pouted. "Aw, come on. You're breaking my heart, kid." I wasn't kidding, either. "You know I have to go to school and deal with all the humans." She smiled. "You ready to go downstairs?" She nodded reluctantly and I understood her hesitance. She started to climb out of bed, but I scooped her up and sat her on one of my over-sized pillows. Then I picked the pillow up, balancing her in one hand and set her down on one of my shoulders. I looked up at her and she looked down at me like I was crazy. "Silly, Nessie. The birthday girl doesn't _walk_. She must be carried on her cushion no matter where she goes." She giggled and it made my day. I felt horrible for leaving her for so many hours everyday, the least I could do is have her in a good mood the entire time I was around.

It had become a habit since that first day that she slide down the main staircase to get downstairs. I was not about to make today an exception. I picked up the two ends of the pillows and she held on to them. I set her down on the banister and let go. She went flying, giggling the whole way down. As soon as they saw her coming, Edward started playing Happy Birthday on the piano for her. It sounded like everyone else _was_ down there, maybe everything did work out. I sang along as I ran down the stairs. Her mom had met her at the bottom of the stairs and everyone was gathered around her to sing, but she was still sitting on her pillow. When they were done singing to her, I picked her up and put her back on my shoulder and took her around to each of her family members so that they could hug and kiss her and wish her a happy birthday. It was a bit awkward when we got to Edward, and I tried not to listen to what he was whispering in her ear. Emmett was the one that finally asked what the hell I was doing. That was exactly what he asked. "What the hell are you doing?"

I feigned shock. "Didn't you know that a birthday girl must be carried around on her cushion all day?" I looked back at Nessie and rolled my eyes. "Don't pay any attention to him, Miss Renesmee." She blushed, again. "You shouldn't be associating yourself with such an uncultured Neanderthal." She giggled. That was three. I sat Nessie on top of the table, still on her pillow, while I ate. It was a bit awkward, everyone watching me. We decided, by which I mean Alice decided, that she would open presents later. Only two giggles later, I was forced to get going to school. _Hey, Edward._ I tried not to look up from my plate. _Can Nessie ride Bella's bike and follow me to the end of the driveway?_ He nodded slightly. _Thanks._

"Miss Renesmee?" She looked up at me. "Would you be willing to leave the comforts of your cushion to accompany me in a bike ride to the end of the driveway?" She looked over at her dad who smiled at her. She nodded enthusiastically. "Okay. Let me just go get my bag." I bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. Giggle number six. I ran upstairs, grabbing my bag, watch and bracelet from my room. Then I ran down the spiral staircase into our study and grabbed all my school supplies, stuffing them in my bag. I went back down through the library, meeting everyone by the front door. I slipped my bag over one shoulder and took her from Bella. "Miss Renesmee, your horseless chariot awaits." Seven.

I felt ridiculous wearing a helmet. Nessie looked cute in hers. I started her bike for her and got on my own. Edward followed us in Jasper's Ducati, but he kept his distance. It was better than nothing. At the edge of the driveway I turned off my bike, walked over to her, and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you later, birthday girl. I have my phone, text me if you want to tell me _anything_. Even if it's just something stupid Emmett says, okay?" She nodded, but her chin was practically on her chest, I knew there would be tears in her eyes if I lifted it. I faced them, anyway. It broke my heart. Maybe we should have been weaning off each other in the past three weeks, not making it all but impossible to be without the other. "I love you, Renesmee." No blush this time, just more tears. I wiped them off with my thumb. "I'll be home in no time." She just nodded. "Tell me if they don't carry you, okay?" I got half a chuckle from that one. I'd take it. I kissed her on the cheek and hopped back on my bike, kicking it to life. I was halfway on to the road when I heard her. "I'll miss you, Jacob." I couldn't look back, it would hurt too much.

I felt the way they always show parents feeling when their kid goes to Kindergarten for the first time. It was weird. I had gone to school since January up in Forks, it was never this hard to go. I guess it was because I wasn't living there with her, wasn't really leaving her when I went, didn't spend nearly every waking moment with her for three weeks, longer when you count a majority of the summer, only to be separated for half the day. This sucked.

I sped. All I could think about was getting this stupid-looking helmet off of me. I got into town close to a half-hour early. The parking lot was full, but there was a special place for bikes, so I was able to get a spot easily. There were some new cars, mostly small SUVs or small trucks. There were also nicer cars, Edward's Volvo wouldn't have stood out here. Alice's Porche and Blondie's BMW still would have. The rest were an obvious collection of hand-me-downs, old stations wagons, SUVs, and even minivans. Sure enough, as soon as I stepped off my bike, everyone was staring in my direction. Oh well, Jake, get used to it. I fixed my bag on my shoulder and walked to my locker, putting my helmet inside. Then, I followed the crowd to the auditorium. The counselor had told me a couple of weeks ago that they started the year here with a big assembly before a shortened days of classes. Whatever. There'd be fewer stares in a darkened auditorium than in bright classrooms. I felt really out of sorts, getting so many looks. I felt like Blondie. Especially, when I began to hear their whispers. At least the town was big enough that nobody knew who I was. I was just a new kid. A new kid that, apparently, was boyfriend material.

I got a seat in the back row. As the entire school kept filing in, hugging and catching up, I took out my phone. I felt stupid wanting to text Nessie this soon after leaving her. I missed her so much, though. I didn't even know what to say, nothing had happened, I had nothing to tell her. Oh well, maybe she had something to tell me. I typed, "How's the birthday girl?" and sent it. I made sure the phone was on silent before setting it down. I pulled out my schedule. I hadn't looked at it much since the day I came to register. I knew where they were because the counselor had pointed them out as he walked us around. I didn't have anywhere near a photographic memory like the Cullens, but I had a really good sense of direction, like most wild animals do, and I could remember how to get places if I had been there before.

My phone buzzed and I looked down. _Guess what? Daddy's letting me practice with Uncle Jazz later!_ Wow. A lot _must _have been settled last night. Goddamn school. If I hadn't had to go to sleep, I would be in the loop. I had to talk to Bella when I got home. Maybe I'd call her during my lunch. After I talk to Nessie, of course. _That's great, Nessie. What else are you going to do today? _ I waited. _I'm going to help Momma and grandma bake my cake. _I stifled a laugh so as not to attract more stares than the ones I was already ignoring. I wonder if they'd have a cake if I wasn't there, Nessie only likes frosting. The lights went down as I got another text. _Momma's calling for me. I miss you._ There goes my form of entertainment during this thing. _Bye, birthday girl. I miss you, too. _

I looked around. There were still girls squealing and hugging each other, even a couple guys doing the same thing. Interesting. We didn't have many gay guys on the Rez, especially not ones so open about it. The principal got up on the stage and was trying to quiet everyone down. Then the class president, a curly-haired, freckled girl got up and had us all do the Pledge of Allegiance with her. I almost tripped over a few of the words, it had been so long.

The assembly was long and torturous. Every club's president got up and gave a little speech about what their club did and how we could join. It was all so amazing to me. I wasn't even sure we _had _clubs in La Push, let alone an improv comedy group. Then the JV cheerleaders came up and I could hear people screaming out girls' names as they stood still on stage. When the music started, I had to look around to make sure everyone was seeing what I was seeing. They weren't even cheering, they were just dancing. But mostly they were grinding and shaking their asses. How did they get away with this? Some other groups got up and performed, the choir, the band. Then it was the sports teams' turn. Most of them were pretty basic, but some of them sounded ridiculous to me. There was a rowing team. I couldn't believe it. Every time I had gone fishing with my dad, I always had to row us out. It was a pain in the ass and the worst part about the whole thing. But these kids did it for fun? Utterly ridiculous.

The football team went last. All of the guys looked so small compared to me. I could just imagine the kind of team La Push would have had with Seth, Quil, Embry, and all the new wolves. Seth was the smallest guy in my pack, but even he would have towered over the largest guy on Hanover's team. While the coach gave some half-assed rally speech about this Friday's game, I wondered what it would be like to be on a sports team. In a way, packs are the ultimate teams, we're so interconnected that the others feel like natural extensions of yourself. When we fought the newborns and when we had killed Laurent , we were all working together, in unison. But it might be nice to do something on a team with a physical goal, that might not result in your own or your brothers' and sister's death. I guess playing baseball with the Cullens fulfilled that need. Although, I was always the weakest player, besides Nessie, on the team. I could hit the ball just as hard as they could, but I couldn't run in my human body like I could run in my wolf form. Maybe next time I would try to hit and then phase before I ran. I don't know. I'd ruin a lot of clothes. After the coach finished talking, the Varsity cheerleaders got up to do their routine and end the assembly. They were even sluttier than the last group. Prettier, too, though. I wonder if they actually _were_ the sluts of the school. Weird. Was high school really this clichéd?

I took my time getting up and out the exit. Walking to my first class I began to hear more of the same whispers between girls. From guys, I mostly got stares because of my size. Some of them hugged their girls closer to them. I wanted to laugh. Don't worry, I'm not looking. I must have looked intimidating to a lot of the students, because they parted in front of me and let me walk straight through them. English was first, then, Government, and my wood sculpting class. That should be interesting. Billy had taught me, and I was pretty good, but I wanted to get better before I made anything for Nessie like I had made for Bella. I had lunch after sculpting and then I came back for shop, Algebra II, and another English class. I was taking Algebra II and the one semester of English, because they were the two class I couldn't make up in my last half of Junior year. I tried to talk Carlisle into forging my transcripts, but he wouldn't do it. Oh well. At least I'd be getting out of school really early next semester. More time with Nessie in the afternoons.

I took a seat in the back, I would be trying to do that all day, in my first class. The teacher, who I would also have for my other English class at the end of the day, was so up-beat that she reminded me of Alice. She made us go around the room and say our names and "something interesting about yourself." Oh yeah, I can just imagine. _I'm Jacob and I turn into a large, vampire-killing werewolf._ I heard girls hold their breath as my turn came around. I wonder how long it would take for the whole school to know my name after these girls told their friends and those girls told their friends. I cleared my throat. "Hi." I heard heartbeats pick up and I fought a laugh. "I'm Jacob Black and I just moved into town from Washington." I thought that would be it. I was wrong.

The teacher was interested now. "Ooh, Washington, D.C.?"

"Nope, just Washington." Please let that be enough. I wasn't shy or anything. Actually, I was usually really outgoing. It's just that I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be at home, with Nessie. It really hadn't been this hard when I was going to school in La Push. Then again, now I was _pretending_ to be living in the real world and they were all really doing it. It was a little disconcerting. As supernatural as my existence had been at home, I was still home, I was still leading _my _life. I had never realized the comfort I got from my fellow wolves being at school with me. I had brothers who were experiencing the same thing I was. I wonder if it would feel the same if I went to school with the Cullens, with Nessie. Like it had felt when we were in Boston together, alone in our world while interacting in everyone else's. At least then I had had a role, I was her protector. At least then I had been with her. Here, I was alone.

Aside from that, there was a girl sitting next to me whose heartbeats were dangerously close together. I didn't dare glance at her for fear of giving her a heart attack. I had to admit, though, it was kinda flattering. I saw what Blondie got out of it. On the Rez, around people you've known your whole life, I had just remained "Jake" just like all the other wolves had retained their familiarity, despite physical changes.

Thankfully, the teacher had left it at that. Apparently, Washington is not as exciting as Washington, D.C. It probably isn't. Classes were only a half-hour long and with the introductions, there was only enough time for her to talk to us about the first book we'd be reading, _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_. Thank you, Nessie.

Government was boring, but at least there were no useless introductions. The most interesting thing that happened, happened after class was over. I was one of the last students to reach the door because I had managed to get a seat in the back when the teacher stopped me and asked to talk to me. What now? He looked up from the roll sheet. "Jacob Black, right?" I just nodded. "How tall are you?"

Huh? "Um, the last time I checked I was six-seven, but I think I'm probably around six-ten now."

He nodded, smiling slightly. That was kinda weird. "I'm the hockey coach here." _Oh._ "And I think you should try out for the team."

I shifted uncomfortably. I didn't know what to say. "Um...I don't really know how to skate."

He put his hand up. "Oh, we'd teach you that. I bet you're a fast learner." No need to tell him that I'd probably be able to skate like an Olympian after a few days. "Well, try-outs aren't for a few weeks. Get back to me." When he said that he looked me up and down. Wow. Awkward.

I walked to my next class thinking about what he had told me. It had taken me too long to get to my next class to get a seat in the back, but it was sculpting, so the seating wasn't really normal. We all had a work station instead of just a table and chair. We did introductions in this class, too, mostly because I don't think the teacher had a lot to talk about. At least we didn't have to say anything but our name.

I walked to my locker after class, getting my helmet. Goddamn this stupid thing. I hurried to my bike and peeled out of the parking lot. It felt good to be free. First thing's first, food. I was starving. I had a short lunch because the periods were short, so I went to the closest fast food place I could find and ordered enough for a small family. I sat in the back and ate and then I called Nessie. She didn't pick up. Hmm. I was disappointed but at least she's out doing something on her birthday. Maybe her parents had taken her for a run. I didn't really have a lot of time to talk to her, anyway.

I had used up the last of my cash with lunch, so I decided to go to an ATM. I figured if I got money now, I could go home right after school. I found a bank a couple of blocks away. I planned on taking out $100, figuring it would last at least two weeks. I put in Nessie's birthday as my PIN and took out my money. When I got my receipt and card back, my jaw dropped. _$550? _Carlisle is putting $750 in my bank account each month? I definitely need to talk to Alice.

I made it back to school with ten minutes to spare. Putting my helmet back in my locker, I walked all the way to shop, at the other end of campus. The teacher seemed like an ass, but he also seemed low-maintenance. After explaining the order we'd be learning everything in, he put a movie on. _The Fast and the Furious_ hardly seemed educational, but the other dozen guys in the room and I weren't really complaining. It didn't seem like I'd be learning much in the class, but I would be working on cars for an hour a day, so it was worth it. I took a cocky pride in knowing that it would be the first time in months that I would be working on engines that weren't mine without making any money.

Math...was math. I wasn't bad at it, but it was the only class that gave out homework on a constant basis and I wasn't looking forward to it. Especially because I had made a promise to Carlisle to really try this year. That meant doing every homework assignment. I made my way back to my first class, after the bell rang. My English teacher, somehow, seemed to _gain_ energy as the day went on. I, again, had to introduce myself. I said the same thing I had earlier. She looked like she was going to say something about it, but didn't. I was thankful, the teacher only taught English and if she had said something, everyone would think that I was making up an English class that I had failed at my last school.

I couldn't get out of there fast enough when class was over. I was just about to start up my bike when I remembered...my helmet. I hate that fucking thing. I was closing my locker in the now-empty hall when I heard someone walk up behind me. A teacher who looked about the same age I looked was standing there. He put out his hand and I shook it, hesitantly. "Mr. Miller. Man, how old are you?" He had a huge smile on his face. Something about it reminded me of Seth and I immediately felt comfortable.

I laughed. "Seventeen. Jacob Black, by the way."

"So, Jacob, how many coaches have come up to talk to you today?" He was still grinning at me.

I laughed, again. "You're the second, but it's only because the hockey coach is my government teacher."

"Well, just wait a couple of days for word to get out about you. I bet the football coach is really sorry you didn't show up a couple of months ago." He laughed and it was infectious. "How tall are you, anyway."

It was weird how they all asked the same questions. I gave him the brief version. "Six-ten."

He nodded. "That sounds about right." It was then that I realized how tall this guy was. Shorter than Emmett but taller than Edward, maybe Jasper's height. "So what did you play back at home?"

I shook my head. "Nothing." He looked surprised. "I just moved from a reservation in Washington. We didn't really have sports at the school."

"What are you doing out here?"

I took a deep breath. It was the first time I had had to put my story into use. "I moved out here with my aunt and uncle. My uncle just got a job as a surgeon at the college's hospital."

He nodded, then he smiled widely. "Well, here's where I start my pitch. I think you'd be a real good fit on my basketball team." He hadn't said what he coached. Basketball? Huh. He stopped me from having to make up an excuse. "You don't need to decide right now, something tells me that I'm not going to be the last coach to approach you."

After saying goodbye I hurried back out to my bike and raced home. Despite everything I had been thinking about during the assembly, I knew that there was no way I could actually play with normal humans. It would be too hard to hold back my strength and speed and it would bring unnecessary attention to us. But thinking about it made me realize that I _was_ thinking about it. If I was forced to be honest with myself I guess I did want to play.

I was amazed to find, as I walked into the front door, that Alice had transformed the living room into a birthday party. There were purple mylar balloons and streamers everywhere and she had replaced all the flowers in the vases around the room with purple ones. Purple was Nessie's current favorite color. Emmett came walking into the room from the library, carrying Nessie and her pillow in his arms in front of him. I laughed at that and smiled at her. She smiled back. I walked over to them and took her from him, kissing her cheek. "Hey, birthday girl, having a good day?"

"Uh huh! Guess what, Jacob? I just beat Uncle Em and Uncle Jazz at Risk!" I laughed. Jasper must be pissed, Emmett didn't look too happy, either.

"I thought you were going to kick her ass at all those board games, Em?" Her back was to him, so he flipped me off. I just laughed. I felt so good right now. I was home. I was back with Nessie. I sat down on one of the couches and set her on my lap. "So, when did Alice do all this?" She hugged me around the neck and showed me an image of earlier. Her and her parents were hunting. I smiled at their version of family bonding.

Bella and Edward came down the stairs and I smiled warily. I still didn't know where I stood with them. "May I speak to you privately, Jacob?" I just nodded as I stood to hand Nessie off to Bella. We walked out the back, across the deck, and into the woods. "I'm still not very happy with you." Well, this was going well. "You willfully disobeyed our requests for Nessie and you put her in danger. I know you don't think she was in danger—"

"Look, Edward. I don't think you've seen anything from my perspective, yet. So let me do that." I thought back through everything. I thought about riding with her, teaching her how to handle the bike. How she had asked me to let her ride on her own and I couldn't think of one good reason why not. I thought about all the nights I had read to her and she, half asleep, asked to stay. I thought about watching the movies with Emmett, my fear of her knowing that kind of evil. Then I showed him my memory of her talking about the "movies with the cuss words," how they hadn't affected her. I thought about how hard it was watching her fight Alice. How I felt throughout the sessions, growling the whole time, but allowing it because I knew it would make her safer in the long run. I let him feel what I did when I saw Jasper bend down to smell her blood a second before I phased. Finally, I thought about how happy she had been. How the majority of our time had been spent reading, exploring the woods, hanging out. "I know I fucked up on some things, Edward. But you have to trust me with her. I know I don't always do exactly what you would do in the same situation, but I don't do anything to just piss you off, I do everything for her. I would have snapped Carlisle in half if I thought Jasper wasn't controlling himself. It takes everything I have to not rip Alice to pieces when she's going after that little girl. I don't take her safety lightly, Edward."

He nodded. "It's just going to take some time for me to be okay with everything." He turned away from me. "We should be heading back, now."

"Edward." He stopped. I wanted him to know how guilty I felt for fucking things up. I knew at the time, we all did, that what we were doing would upset him. I wanted him to know how much it hurt me to know that I had ruined Bella's homecoming. "I'm sorry." He nodded, again, and we walked back to the house in silence.

The late afternoon passed quickly, playing board games with Nessie in the library until Esme called me into the kitchen for dinner. I was pleased when they didn't make Nessie eat with me. I knew that they would tomorrow, but she shouldn't have to on her birthday.

Then, it was time to open presents. We all gathered in front of the fireplace in the living room. Nessie opened Carlisle and Esme's presents first. It was some old, leather-bound book. I don't know. Nessie seemed excited about it, though. Jasper and Emmett had gotten her a huge trampoline that they had put together behind the library while I was eating dinner. Alice and Rosalie gave her gift certificates from a dozen different stores. It seemed to me like that was more of a gift for themselves, knowing they'd get to shop with her. They did buy her a gift certificate to a bookstore, though, and that one was all for Nessie. They also bought her a bunch of things for her hair, some jewelry that wasn't diamonds or anything, but that still looked expensive, and every shade of nail polish some brand named OPI made. Edward wasn't too happy about the nail polish, but Bella was fine with it, so he gave in without saying anything.

Then it was time for my gift. I felt sorta stupid because I hadn't even really seen everything, even though I was the one that told Alice what to buy. Alice pulled out a huge, tall gift bag that was overflowing with tissue paper. "Obviously," I told Nessie, "I didn't wrap it." She smiled at me and then tore into the paper. There was a bunch of large, rolled posters that she took out one at a time. They were all maps: a world map, a US map, a map of each continent, a map of Washington, a map of New Hampshire, and a map of Vermont. She turned back to me, her mouth open. "I saw you looking at the maps at that bookstore in Boston. There's one more thing." She reached down to the bottom of the bag and pulled out that Washington travel book I had bought after I caught her looking at it. There was a wolf bookmark on the page with the picture of First Beach, of our island. She opened it to that page and smiled, but there were tears in her eyes. She turned to me and hugged me fiercely around the neck. My heart swelled as she replayed the scene for me so I could feel what she felt. Happy, grateful, loved. "Happy Birthday, Renesmee."

Her parents gave her their present last, some books and CDs. She got up to thank everyone as her dad sneaked out the front door. He came back in carrying a shiny, white, Nessie-sized piano. Everyone's jaw dropped and our similar thoughts must have all spilled out at the same time because Edward's face went from being eager to surprise his daughter, to absolutely surprised himself. "She didn't." We just nodded at him. He laughed and set it down in the middle of the room. Nessie ran to him and jumped into his arms. Bella looked around at us, wanting to be filled in. "That sounds perfect, sweetheart." He answered Nessie's silent question. They sat down together at Edward's piano and I all smiled as I realized what was about to happen. "Bella, love, Renesmee wants to give you your birthday present now. Is that okay?" Bella just nodded, still completely in the dark. You could barely see Nessie behind the piano and Edward moved his hands over the keys and we heard Bella's familiar lullaby. Bella looked confused and then, with a big grin on his face, Edward stopped moving his fingers and stood up. Bella looked even more confused when the music kept playing, until she realized it was her daughter, not her husband, that had been playing the whole time. When the song was over, we all applauded and Bella went to hug her daughter, whispering in her ear.

Alice came into the room with a lit cake after Bella was less emotional and set it down on the piano in front of Nessie. Edward, again, played Happy Birthday for her while we sang and Nessie smiled at me the whole time. She held my gaze for a few seconds after the singing had died down and then she closed her eyes and blew out the candle. I ended up eating half the cake as we sat there as a family, just enjoying each other's company. Then, suddenly, Emmett was doubled over in laughter and Edward was laughing, too. "Hey, Jazz...re-remember..." Emmett was having trouble getting his words out between his laughs. "Jake was drunk...and...and...he had a _ten_ minute argument...with _himself_...over which was better...ice...ice cream...or...or...cake?" Shit. Why can't I _remember_ any of this?

Jasper, along with everyone else, laughed. "Was that before or after he danced with the cue stick?" There was another, louder, wave of laughter at that.

"He danced with a cue stick?" Nessie had jumped from her place on the couch next to me to sit on Emmett's lap. He nodded, still laughing, and held her hand. "Was there music?" He shook his head and everyone laughed, again. "I wish I could've seen that."

Suddenly, Nessie's eyes widened in shock and she gasped at the exact same time that, across the room, her father choked on nothing but air.

* * *

_Author's Note: _So, a bit of a cliffhanger there.

About Hanover High School in Hanover, New Hampshire. I admit, I have taken some liberties in describing the school, but some things like the open lunch, _Huckleberry Finn _as assigned reading, and a crew team, are 100% real.


	6. Book One: Part Six

_Author's Note: _Yea! 100,000+ words! I must admit, I had very little faith in myself that I would ever make it this far. I have never completed _anything_ I've started, so I'm afraid I might be somewhat_ too_ proud of my eight-week accomplishment. Not that I'm anywhere _near_ ending the story, but 100,000 words is a milestone that I wasn't 100% certain I'd meet. Especially after the last four weeks, or two parts, of writing. It's been _Hell_, people. You don't even know. I think it's fitting that my little accomplishment should coincide with the beginning of the meat of the story. As far as I'm concerned, it only gets better from here on out.

Once again, your reviews have been the dab of whiskey on my teething gums, especially these past two updates. I have every intention of posting a drawing of the Cullens new digs. So, check for it on my profile, soon.

_Stephenie Meyer:_ Thank you for unleashing all of the wonderful creatures you fully created and own on the poor, hapless Charlies of the world, such am I.

* * *

***  
_**I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it.  
**_

--Mark Twain  
_Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  
_

***

The changing of seasons was not something I thought I would ever really notice. In La Push there were two seasons, and the landscape was either green or white. May through September the highs were in the 60s, the lows were in the 40s, and it tended to rain about half as much as the rest of the year. October through April the highs were in the 40s and 50s, the lows were in the 30s, and it rained, or snowed, a lot. So, I had never really thought about autumn before. The changing leaves brought about a whole new look to my room and our study. I mean, there was always some maple trees in the forests near home that changed color, but everything else was moss-covered evergreens. I liked the new colors and what they did to the landscape. I found myself enjoying the scenery on drives home from school and while I was out running.

It wasn't just the weather and trees that had changed in the months following Nessie's first birthday. Mornings, after I had left to go to school, she spent in the backyard, practicing fighting tactics with her uncle. Bella and Edward were always out there with her and I was glad I no longer had to subject myself to watching it. She and Alice were both getting much better at it and Bella even partook in sparring against Alice, sometimes.

Carlisle would get home from his night shifts at the hospital in the late morning, when they were finishing up the lesson. The day-to-day measurements he collected then proved that Nessie's growth had slowed dramatically. In her first year, she had aged six months every month, now she was aging half that, three months every month. He predicted that it would slow even more within the next few years, if Nahuel's seven years were universal to their kind.

It was in the late mornings that she practiced her powers with Carlisle and her parents. Everyone had been stunned when she was able to extract a thought from her uncle on her birthday. One moment we were all laughing at my drunken stupidity and the next Nessie was in shock and Edward had rushed across the room to her. He had picked her up and hugged her to him while Bella and I rushed forward to stand behind them. Nessie had looked over her dad's shoulder, met my eyes, and started busting up. She reached towards me, projecting Emmett's memory into me, still laughing. I had been too shocked to laugh with her.

She had explained to us that, after practicing with her grandfather, she had realized how her power worked. It was like a ball of energy that she could push into other people. When she had been holding hands with her uncle and wanted to see what he was seeing, she had been surprised to feel that same ball of energy. Curious, she had pulled on it instead of pushing it, and she had received a thought instead of giving one. Edward had wanted to call Eleazar immediately, but Carlisle didn't think it was necessary. Nessie was the only hybrid we knew who had powers and he figured that her growth, along with his practice sessions, had allowed her powers to grow, also.

So, everyday, she would practice her powers with her grandfather and parents. They had worked on breaking through Bella's shield, too. After Bella had explained to Nessie how her shield worked, it was easier for Nessie to feel herself breaking through it, even when Bella was shielding others. She now could project with any kind of physical contact and, after a lengthy musing between Edward and Carlisle, was working on pushing the current through conductors.

She waited until I came home from school to study with me. Carlisle and Edward had decided to skip her straight into high school work. She studied ancient history, algebra, and biology, before moving on to history after the middle ages, geometry, and chemistry. She read books and talked about them with her parents. She had picked her first modern language to study, French, and I was trying to learn it alongside her. She passed through a year of high school work in two months, studying them in greater depth than any high school student ever could. By the time late October came around, she was studying the same math that I was. It was somewhat humbling to have a seven-year-old help me with my homework, but it was better than asking Edward. She didn't just help me with math, either. She had been curious about my English reading and would read to me while projecting her images, every night. I had never done so well in English before in my life.

Nights that Bella and Edward didn't have class, Nessie spent practicing the piano with her father and I would eat dinner and finish my homework in the living room so I could listen to her. She had surpassed Rosalie in musical skills and was even thinking of taking up a different instrument, much to her father's dismay. As far as Edward Cullen was concerned, there was no greater instrument than the piano. She still slept with me, despite her father's objections. When Bella let it slip that Edward sneaked into her room every night while they were dating, he no longer had a leg to stand on. I stopped reading to her before bed so that she could read to me.

Life, for me, took on a similar routine. I tried to help Esme around the house as much as possible. I did my own laundry, although, that was mostly because I didn't want Alice throwing any of my stuff away. I changed the fluids in Carlisle's car before Blondie had a chance to do it herself. I cleaned my room and bathroom, I even cleaned Nessie's, the only toilets in the house that was ever used. In short, I did everything I could think of to make sure that I was earning that obscene monthly allowance. I went to school, everyday, dreading my time away from Nessie. I made it a point to pay attention in class, to actively participate, even. I don't know if I did it for Carlisle or for Nessie, but I felt I owed it to the both of them. I spent every lunch with Bella and Nessie at the Hanover house. Bella would cook, and I would catch up on Nessie's morning. It was great to hang out with the both of them. At the house, Bella was always with Edward or Alice. I had missed her during the month she was gone and it took a while before she had really forgiven me for everything that had gone on at home while she was gone.

By the end of my first week, I had been approached by nearly every coach at school. I had a conversation with Carlisle about joining a team. He was surprised to learn of my interest, as surprised as I was to learn I _had_ an interest. In the end, he had felt that basketball would probably be the only sport I should play. Basketball, he had said, would only require me to hold back my speed. As long as I didn't use my strength against others when I played defense, I knew I would be able to handle the ball on offense. He was also certain that, as long as I managed to purposefully miss a few baskets, I wouldn't draw too much attention to myself. Edward and Jasper weren't as open to the idea. Edward thought that it was altogether unnecessary and Jasper thought that there was a chance I could out myself. Emmett was just jealous that he would never be able to do the same. He had always wanted to play football in school, like he had in his human life. Even if he held back his strength, though, he would still not be able to handle the blood that was a given during practices and games. Mr. Miller had been thrilled to hear that I wanted in. The only problem were the practices, they took more of my time away from Nessie.

During the second week of school, something happened that I hadn't been expecting. Two things, actually, that lead to one big thing. First, two girls in some of my classes asked me out on a date. I was pretty surprised. Not that I'm not something to look at, but because I wasn't really sending out vibes that would make anyone want to talk to me. Then, I was put in a group in my government class and ended up making friends with a couple of other seniors. In the weeks after, I started to get to know the guys on my basketball team, and all my new friends soon introduced me to their friends. Within a couple of more weeks, I was hearing my name called out in the halls between classes. More girls asked me out and I was surprised the next Friday to find that some of them were cheerleaders. My newfound popularity had me turning down lunch invites.

So, I probably shouldn't have been surprised when, the Friday before Spirit Week, I was pulled out of my math class and was told I had been voted onto Homecoming Court. Emmett and Jasper teased me mercilessly the entire week. Especially Tuesday, when I came downstairs in the morning still dressed in pajamas ready to go to school. Stupid Spirit Week and its stupid Pajama Day. It was during lunch that I made up my mind about something. I had finished eating the sandwiches Bella had made for me and I was getting a soda from the fridge when I decided that then was as good a time as any. "Bells?" She had looked up at me, her eyebrows scrunched together. "Don't laugh, because I feel really stupid asking you, okay?" Then she had looked amused. Nessie had looked up from her book, curious. "This sounds so corny but," I had pushed the end of the sentence out in a quick exhale, "will you go to the Homecoming dance with me?"

She had tried to hold in a laugh, but after I motioned towards her that it was okay, she let it out. "You did _not_ just ask me that."

"Shut up, Bella! I _have_ to go and I don't want to have to say yes to any of the other girls that have asked me."

"Oh, poor Jake! Having Mike Newton problems?"

I had rolled my eyes as I sat back down next to Nessie. "You kid me, Bells, but they're relentless. Some of those girls..." I had trailed off as I turned to point a finger at Nessie. "You are never going to be a cheerleader, do you hear me?" Bella had laughed, but Nessie hadn't said anything. In fact, she hadn't even looked up at me.

"Fine. Just don't tell Alice I'm going until it's too late for her to get me a dress and fix my hair, okay?"

"Pssh. Forget it. If I'm going with you, you're going to have to look presentable."

Suddenly, I had found myself remembering all of the girls who had asked me out over the past few weeks. Some of them weren't bad and had nervously shifted their weight when they asked me, not even able to look me in the eye. Others had practically thrown themselves at me, making it clear that a date wasn't the only thing I'd be getting that night from them. I had looked down to see Nessie gripping my arm as my memories kept playing out.

"What are you doing?" She hadn't looked up, even as she pulled her hand away, and had shrugged. "Jeez, Nessie, you should warn someone before you do that." She had just shrugged again.

"What?" Bella had instantly become wary. "What did she do?"

"Nothing. She was just showing me what she was reading, but her hand wasn't on me so I didn't see it coming." I had lied.

I hadn't known what to think of what had happened. It was one thing when Edward did it. For one thing, he couldn't help hearing it. For another, he couldn't control what he was hearing. I had wondered if Edward had talked to her about it and decided that he probably had, so I had let it slide.

Much to my horror, I had been named Homecoming King. I still couldn't believe it as I picked up the velveteen-covered crown that I would have to wear on my head all night, before walking next door to see Nessie. She was playing her piano and didn't look up even when I sat next to her on the bench. She had been acting coldly towards everyone all week and I was surprised every night that she actually followed me into my room to sleep. She didn't talk to me, though, and wouldn't read to me. She pretended she was asleep half the times I had tried to talk to her, the other half of the time she had flat out ignored me.

I put my crown on. "What do you think?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her. Nothing. I took off the ridiculous hat and sighed. "What's wrong, Nessie?" I had been asking her the same thing all week and I got the same answer I had been getting all week, now. Silence.

Edward flew down the hall and stood in Nessie's doorway. "Bella's ready, or more accurately, Alice is done with her." There was a small smile on his face, I couldn't give him one back, I was too worried about Nessie.

I nodded and kissed Nessie on the side of her forehead. She kept playing. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She shrugged. "Can I take you hunting tomorrow? We haven't gone all week." She shrugged again and my shoulders sagged. What did I do? Was it even me? She didn't seem to be too happy with anyone else, lately. Not even Bella.

"Bella said you needed to be there early?" Edward said it like a question but it was more like a reminder to get going.

I answered, anyway, wanting to stretch out my time with Nessie. She'd probably be asleep by the time I came home. "Yeah. We have to take pictures with the court." He left and I leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'll miss you, Nessie." She scoffed. "What, you don't think I'll miss you?" Another shrug. Screw being late. "Okay, Nessie. What's going on with you? Why are you so _pissed_ at me?" Silence. "I'm not—"

Edward came back into the room, this time Bella walked in with her husband. "C'mon, Jake, I've been waiting. You're going to be late."

I sighed in defeat. "Sure, sure." I got up off the bench and tucked a curl behind her ear while I bent down to kiss the top of her head.

Edward took my place next to her and I walked to the door, Bella following after me. I had just taken a step into the hallway when I heard her mumble, "You look stupid in that crown."

Bella looked like she was going to say something to her, but I beat her to it. I matched Nessie's tone exactly. "I know."

I stormed downstairs, cursing this past week in my head. It was bad enough having to deal with all the attention and having to participate in all the activities at school. But now Nessie was pissed at me? I was about to storm out the front door, leaving my "date" somewhere behind me when I saw Esme standing between me and my escape. She had a camera in her hand and she looked so damn motherly that I sighed and put on what I hoped was a convincing smile.

"Jacob, you look so handsome." Bella was next to me in the next second.

"Of course he does," said a high-pitched voice behind me, "I had that suit imported from Italy." Alice had instructed me to wear my dark blue suit and had put Edward in charge of tying my tie. That had been awkward.

Esme seemed to ignore her as much as I had. "And, Bella, you look beautiful." I turned and really looked at her for the first time. She really did. After a few posed photos, Bella reminded Esme that we were late and we hopped in Edward's Vanquish and headed into town.

"Bella, what's up with Nessie?"

She sighed. "You really don't know?"

I shook my head, confused. "Should I?"

"Just think back. When did she start acting this way?"

This week had been so hectic, it was hard to remember. "I don't know. When we woke up Tuesday she was fine, but I don't think she was when we woke up on Wednesday."

"You know, it's really weird hearing you talk about waking up next to my kid." I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, what happened Tuesday, then?"

I thought back. Tuesday had been pretty uneventful. School, lunch, school, practice. By the time I got home Nessie was already ignoring me. Did I do something before school? I don't think so. Lunch? Wasn't that the day I asked Bella to— _Oh._ "She's upset that we're going to this dance?"

"Well, that's part of it. Edward told me that she's jealous. Not just of me, but of all the girls that asked you."

"But that's stupid. She knows why I can't take her."

"That's exactly it, though. You know that she hates when her age bars her from anything. Obviously, she doesn't even think of you like that, but she knows that you have to do this with a girl and she's not going to be the one you'll share it with."

I sighed, dejectedly. "So what am I supposed to do?"

She shrugged. "Make it up to her, somehow."

"How? She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Were you listening, Jake? She wants _everything_ to do with you." I guess that's true. I'll have to figure something out. We sat in the car in comfortable silence for a few minutes while I tried to come up with some sort of plan to get back on the good side of my seven-year-old soul mate. "So, are you excited at all about tonight?" I snorted. "Really? _I_ am."

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, the way I see it, it's pretty natural that I would be going to a school dance with you, you know? Maybe not with a husband and daughter waiting for me at home..." I chuckled in agreement as she trailed off. "Oh, come on, you know you're excited. The bad Top 40 music, the cheesy pictures, and the— Hey! You didn't get me a corsage."

"Jeez, Bells. This is Homecoming, not Prom."

"Well _I_ still had to wear this gown for you _and_ these stilettos."

"Oh, please. You could be walking on pillows and it would still feel as comfortable as those heels feel."

"That's besides the point. Some gentleman you are."

I rolled my eyes. "How about I compose you a song? Will that make up for it? Where's my piano?" She slapped my arm, but laughed.

We made it to the gym with ten minutes to spare before our scheduled picture time. I took one with the court only, one with the court and dates, and then Bella and I took a separate one. Most of the guys had to scrape their jaws off the floor when they saw my "date." I introduced her to everyone with a tight arm around her waist. I wasn't jealous, I had just heard most of these guys in the locker room and didn't want them to think they could get away with that kind of talk about Bella. At least not in front of me.

As the dance started, we walked around. I pointed people out to her, telling her all of the gossip and anecdotes that come with going to class day in and day out with these people. We danced the first slow song and I realized that, if Nessie is going to be anywhere near as graceful as the rest of her family is, Bella's going to have to teach me how to dance. After a while, we found a spot outside, under a heating lamp that neither of us needed, and talked. I gave her my jacket, too, for show. We talked about the family and about Nessie. We talked about my school and her school. We talked about Nessie's studies, her trainings with Jasper, and her practice sessions with Carlisle. We talked about Forks and La Push. We talked about the packs and Charlie and Sue. We talked about the upcoming holidays and my birthday.

We were interrupted every so often by a guy on the team, usually drooling over Bella, or a girl in one of my classes, usually drooling over me. Bella would ignore the girls, running her fingers through my hair or stroking the side of my face before pretending to remember that a girl was standing in front of us. Then she would introduce herself as my girlfriend and take the nasty looks some of the girls threw her way. Some of the looks got to her, though, because she would mumble under her breath as they walked away. She was a good buffer. To some of the people I had become good friends with, I just had to introduce her as Bella and they knew that she was my best friend and one of my roommates.

Soon, it was time to do the ceremonial Homecoming King and Queen dance. I groaned as the chaperon who came to get me, ushered me inside. Bella was a couple of steps behind me when I heard her tell me, under her breath, "Well, she's no pool cue, but I think you'll manage." I didn't turn around, I just shook my head. The Homecoming Queen wore way too much make-up and had obviously been drinking. She spent the entire song clinging to me for support while trying to press her boobs into me. I had to walk her back over to her date as soon as the spotlight was off of us and I didn't peel her arms from my neck very gently. Her date, a football player that I didn't know, didn't seem too happy about getting her back.

I walked back over to Bella, who had somehow begun to draw a crowd. It parted for me and I ignored the rest of them as I snaked an arm around her and kissed her cheek. "Ready to go home, honey?" They disbanded as Bella did her part and giggled as she nodded. We walked hand-in-hand to the car and I opened her door for her. "I know I'm the hundredth guy to tell you this tonight, but you really do look beautiful."

"Thanks, Jake. You clean up pretty good yourself."

We sat in silence for the majority of the drive home, each thinking about the ones we had waiting for us at home. "Thanks, again, for doing this."

"It was nice hanging out with you, just the two of us. I miss the warm sodas in your garage."

"I know what you mean, Bells." We held hands as we smiled at each other. "I'm actually surprised you remember that." She shrugged. "Maybe next time we hang out we could do it without the suit and tie?"

"And stilettos," she agreed.

She had stayed up, waiting for me, but was pretending to be asleep. As I hung up my suit and changed into my pajama bottoms, I thought of a way to make it up to Nessie. I was just going to have to get Alice's help, which, let's face it, wouldn't be hard to arrange. I lay down next to her and pulled her towards me. I began whispering to her, playing into her ruse. "Oh, Nessie. I know you're asleep but I have to talk to you because I've missed you so much, lately. This whole week has been so crappy and I wish that things could go back to normal. I miss reading with you and hunting with you and even listening to you play on Edward's piano downstairs." She had only been playing in her room the past couple of days. I could still hear her through the wall, but it wasn't the same. I sighed. "I just really missed you tonight. I didn't need my best friend, I needed my best girl." I pretended not to notice that she snuggled next to me after that. I fell asleep smiling.

As I cuddled with Nessie for the first time in a week the next morning, I tried to think of something that would make up for the past week. I had initially wanted to take Nessie ice skating. On some secluded pond, or something, because she'd look like an Olympian at a public rink. But, even with my limited knowledge of such things, I knew that it would be months before any ponds froze over. So, I had to think of something else. I could only think of one thing that she would really like to do, but I knew that Bella and Edward might be pissed off about it. Oh well. After all, Bella was the one who told me to make it up to her. And it had to be today. Edward, still butt-hurt about his wife on the arm of another man last night, had taken Bella on an extended hunting trip that would last until their night classes tomorrow. How was I going to explain it to the rest of the family, though? Half-truths, I guess. I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble. But, more that that, I didn't want another brain that Edward could pry the secret from.

If we left in an hour, we could be in Boston by one. I kinda wanted to surprise Nessie, but this was one of those things that she'd want to study before we went. I nuzzled the top of her head. "Nessie?"

"Hmm?"

"I really missed you all last week and I wanted to go somewhere with you, today. Just the two of us. Okay?" She looked at me and her eyes were wide with surprise and happiness. She smiled and nodded. I smiled back at her. "We have to keep it from everyone else, because I might get in trouble and I don't want them to get in trouble, too. I'm going to tell you where we're going, but you can't tell anyone else. If they ask me, I'll just tell them all that it's a surprise. Okay?" She nodded, again. A little less enthusiastically this time. "Well, I don't know if you'd want to go." I was lying through my teeth. I knew she'd love my surprise. "Do you want to drive into Boston and go to the big library they have there?" She didn't even answer, she just squealed and hugged me tightly around my neck. I laughed at her enthusiasm. "I know you probably want to learn everything about it, so I'll leave you to get your laptop. I'm going to get ready and go get some breakfast." I kissed the side of her head and she ran out of the room . "We leave in an hour and you need to hunt," I yelled after her.

"You don't need to scream!" She yelled back, but I could tell she was smiling. I grinned. Today was going to be a good day to make up for one really shitty week.

We bundled up in our layers as I drove the Rabbit into the city. We were the only people with the air conditioning on in the 40 degree weather. I drove through the now-familiar area and found parking. I had been to Boston four times now and I had spent 90% of the time within these ten square blocks. I had stuffed my laptop in my bag as we were leaving because Nessie had told me that they had free internet access and I'd have to do _something _while Nessie was reading to her heart's content.

We got there a few minutes after one and I was surprised to find that the library had just opened and we had four hours until they kicked us out. First, she took me on the tour. Repeating everything she had read online about the buildings' and library's history and architecture. She used her gift, actually speaking to me through it for once, so it would be a silent tour. She literally gasped as we walked into the Bates Hall with its vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. A librarian walking by heard her and gave her a knowing, warm smile. Then, she took me to see the murals leading into Bates Hall and in the Abbey Room, the ceiling in the Elliot Room, and the Sargent Gallery. Finally, she made her way to the books, stroking their spines lovingly. If I didn't think it was the most adorable thing that I had ever seen, I would have laughed. Fifteen minutes before closing, I was signing up for a library card and was checking out a dozen books.

She sighed contentedly as we got back in the car.

"Did you have fun, Nessie?" She nodded, grinning. I leaned over to stroke her cheek. "Good, honey."

"Thank you, Jacob."

"Anything for you, kid."

We were halfway home when she told me about my plan to keep our trip from Edward. "All I need to do is show you images of everything we did from my point of view and then, if we think about it, we'll just tell him that I've been wanting to go and I've shown you what you wanted to do there. Then, I'll hide those books in our study because no one ever goes in there." It was true. Edward and Bella both checked it out, once, but they've never been in there since. It was a pretty good idea, I just had to focus on replacing my memories with hers. Before she could ask me what I thought of it, she had already projected images of the day to me.

"Well, what do we tell everyone else we did today?"

She thought for a minute. "How about we say that we went to a movie. A kid's movie because that's all I could get in to and that way no one will ask about the plot. And it took so long because we had to go to Hanover and then we just walked around."

I shook my head as I looked over at her. "You're an evil genius. You know that, right?" She just rolled her eyes at me, but she smirked.

***

By the time winter break came around, I was ready for a vacation. I think we all were. The only one who seemed utterly disappointed by the lack of study was Bella. Even Nessie seemed a little worn out. She had stopped practicing with Jasper as much as she used to, so that she could concentrate on practicing with her powers more. She had had somewhat of a breakthrough a few weeks into November. I was in the kitchen attached to our study, making myself a snack, while she was studying physics. I heard her slam her book shut and then walk over to me, a stupid smile on her face. All she had said was, "Energy travels in _waves_ through the air." I didn't even know if that was true or not. I figured she was right, because she just set down a physics text book. So, I nodded, stupidly. "Waves," she had softly repeated, more to herself than to me. Ten minutes later she had projected a thought into me from across the room. After I stopped choking on my macaroni and cheese and had gasped out a "How?" she had rolled her eyes, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Waves."

Since then, her training had become intensive and usually left her needing a nap before meeting me for lunch. She was excited to learn that she could send the same wave out to more than one person. Carlisle had also had her practicing more with shields, seeing if she could possibly have one herself. They also had her practicing projecting her thought waves through Bella's shield. While she hadn't been successful at that, we were all proud at the rate she was able to accomplish small goals. Nessie, however, didn't feel the same way. Until she had figured out the wave thing on her own, she felt like that she was working for weeks to gain only a small bit of progress. We reminded her that Bella had only been able to control her powers under dire circumstances. Maybe if Bella hadn't so crucially needed to learn her abilities, it would have taken _her_ a while, too. Carlisle did point out that her first breakthrough, obtaining Emmett's thoughts, happened only because she desperately had wanted to see the memory.

Edward became more and more uncomfortable with each development in Nessie's ability. One night, after she had fallen asleep on my lap, we had talked about why that was. He was afraid of the consequences of all these new facets of her powers. He knew that it would only make the Volturi more and more interested in her. Which, I had to admit, I hadn't thought of. That scared me, too. I didn't think of the Volturi very often, but I sure as hell didn't underestimate their threat. I carried my bag with me everywhere as if my life depended on it, because it did. Nessie _was _my life and _she_ depended upon me to have the means to keep her safe. On a more personal level, though, he was afraid that her powers might someday grow into his and he didn't wish that upon her. I hadn't though of that, either. Bella didn't really see his hesitance in sharing his power with his daughter. I did. I knew what men thought about on an all-too-constant basis. I couldn't bear to think of what she would be subjected to if she had to hear and see their incessant musings without a mute button. Bella thought that, with her control over her powers, she may very well have a mute button, even if her powers did develop into Edward's. He and I weren't willing to pin our hopes on that. And, selfishly, he was afraid that she would develop a shield and would be blocked from her mind, like Bella's. Bella and I had rolled our eyes at that one and he didn't go into it much more after that.

Soon, we were in vacation mode. Edward had rented an entire three-story ski lodge up in British Columbia for the week surrounding Christmas. He said he wanted to make up for Nessie's first and unceremonious Christmas, last year. So, he dismissed the staff for the week, who would no doubt wonder why half the guests never slept, and invited everyone up. It was only fifteen miles away from a major ski resort, but it was extremely secluded, which allowed for good hunting. Which they'd need, with three humans around for a week. Edward, in an effort to make Bella and Nessie happy, had invited Charlie, Sue, Seth, Leah, and Billy. He had invited Paul and Rachel, too, even offering to fly in Rebecca and her husband. We all knew that Paul wouldn't be too thrilled about staying in an inn full of vampires and we weren't surprised when Rachel had politely declined, saying that they were spending the holidays with his family. I don't think anyone bothered to ask Rebecca.

The lodge itself was beautiful and rustic. As soon as you walked in through the front doors, it was obvious to see why Edward would have picked this place. It looked just like all their other homes. The first floor was mostly one large room, a living space with plenty of seating, a fireplace, and a piano. There were huge picture windows and French doors leading to the back, which was similar to the glass-wall standard on every Cullen home. They were short enough, though that it would not cast sunlight throughout the entire room. Still, Alice had decided that several Christmas trees would be a festive way to shield their bodies from incoming sunlight for Charlie's sake. There was also a huge kitchen, a dining room with a large table, a first-floor guest room, and a library.

The Cullens and I got up there Friday afternoon, four days before Christmas, driving the 400 miles from the Vancouver airport in well under three hours in. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were all racing their rented Hummers the entire way up from the car rental place. No one rode with Emmett and Rosalie after he admitted that he had always wanted a hummer in a Hummer. Nessie, thankfully, had been too engrossed in her music to hear that one.

The first thing on Alice's Christmas to-do list was to send the men to get trees while the women unpacked. It was a pain in the ass getting one tree, let alone the five pixie-Santa wanted. First, Emmett and Jasper couldn't go outdoors without wanting to hunt. Especially after Emmett smelled a grizzly. Then, Edward couldn't decide which tree to take down. And then when he finally chose between two six-foot trees, Emmett had charged at it and, according to Edward, flattened one side of it. And, since he had already discounted the second tree, we went to find another one. This tree was ten feet tall. According to Alice, the one ten-foot tree was to be the centerpiece tree in the middle of two six- and eight-foot trees.

Edward had his hand under his chin in genuine contemplation as he murmured to himself. "It _is_ tall enough and it _will_ fit, but will it look good in the space? The coloring is acceptable, but is it full enough?"

Carlisle seemed to be amused by his fussing. The rest of us were annoyed, and he knew it, _obviously_. That didn't stop his hemming and hawing. Jasper and Emmett took matters into their own hands, felling it and running the first tree back to the house before Edward could complain.

Carlisle had scolded them when, four hours later, we got back to the lodge with the last tree. "This is his first real Christmas with Bella and Nessie. He's just trying to make sure everything is perfect for his family."

The girls had already begun decorating the trees without us. Bella and Rosalie were stringing lights on each of them and Esme, Alice, and Nessie were unpacking glass ornaments from packages that had shipping labels from Venice. Carlisle, Jasper, and I handed our girls the ornaments while they placed them on the tree. Finally, I hoisted Nessie on my shoulder so she could place the custom-made crystal angel on the tallest tree.

Emmett and Edward left after we lit the trees to rent us all skis before the shops closed. Emmett, Jasper, and I were also going to try our hands at snowboarding. They came back with two Hummers full of equipment an hour and a half later, while I was eating dinner. In the time they had been gone, Alice and Esme had decorated every inch of the house with garlands, wreaths, poinsettias, cinnamon-scented candles, and hanging mistletoe.

It was late Saturday afternoon when Billy, Charlie, Sue, Seth, and Leah finally showed up. The girls had just gotten back from the market and I was helping Bella and Esme stock the fridge and pantry. Esme had never played host to so many humans before and she was excited. With three werewolves in the house, there was no such thing as having too much food on hand. Nessie was with Edward, Carlisle, and Jasper in the library. She had wanted to get in one more training session before she'd have to play human for a week. Alice and Rosalie were rearranging the gifts under the trees for the fifth time, while trying to keep Emmett from shaking all of his presents.

After general greetings, the guys and I helped with their luggage and the girls unloaded the gifts to put under the trees. Esme showed everyone their rooms. They didn't want Charlie to hear them walking around above them at night, so the humans got the third-floor rooms. He still didn't know that they didn't sleep. The four rooms on the third floor belonged to Charlie and Sue, Nessie and I, Seth, and Leah. Charlie, though, thought that I would be bunking with Seth for the week. I was just afraid to be in the room next to Sue and Charlie. I don't think Charlie knew about our exceptional hearing and I was hoping that they'd be quiet. For my sake and Nessie's. The four vampire couples had the four second-floor rooms and Billy had the one guest room on the bottom floor.

Bella, Esme, and Sue all cooked dinner and then the Cullens excused themselves with the pretense of having made date-like dinner reservations at restaurants in town. I laughed, knowing that they weren't going to be able to get away with that at every meal for a whole week. Nessie sulked, knowing she'd have to force some dinner down while the rest of her family got out of it.

"You look like you belong in a freaking boy band, Jake," Leah sneered at me as she came down for dinner. I forgot she hadn't seen me in my new designer duds, yet.

"Aw, I missed you, too, Leah." She smirked at me, but she wasn't amused. "Besides, you shouldn't talk about boy bands, you're dating yourself. Boy bands reached their peak before I was even ten. And, you forget..." I tapped my forehead, "I've been in your head, I know you had a thing for 98 degrees and Nick Lachey pre-Jessica Simpson." She flipped me off and Seth and I laughed at her.

Sue and Nessie called us into the dining room for dinner and we fell into a comfortable silence while _we_ ate and Nessie pushed food around on her plate. Sue asked how school was going and I was doing a pretty good job of editing until Nessie ran up to her parents' room and gave Billy some photos that Bella had printed for him. Everybody aw'd at the picture of Nessie and I in matching Red Sox uniforms, well, everyone with a heart. Leah looked completely uninterested as the photos made their round to her.

I knew I was in trouble when Leah snorted water out her nose. _"Why_ are you wearing a _crown?"_ Aw, crap! In all the times I had phased since, I had made a conscious effort to not think of that little bit of trivia.

"Jacob was Homecoming King." Nessie didn't even bothering to hide the pride in her voice. I noticed that she didn't tell them that she hadn't spoken to me for a week because of it. Billy, Charlie, and Sue looked like they were holding back smirks. Seth, ever the hero-worshiper, nodded as if it was obvious that I would be.

Leah just laughed at me. "Oh, I am making copies of this. Two weeks sooner and this would have been my Christmas card." She kept laughing until she got the next picture from her mom, then she doubled-over. "You made Bella take you to your Homecoming dance?"

I felt Nessie shrinking next to me and I knew I had to end this, somehow. "Don't go there, Leah." I didn't move my head, but I swung my eyes towards Nessie, hoping Leah would take the hint. I know she doesn't believe in the entire institution of imprinting, but there's no way she could break a little girl's heart, right? Right. She just rolled her eyes and gave me a look that said that she'd revisit that particular topic when Nessie wasn't around. I didn't doubt her.

The Cullens started showing up as soon as picture time was winding down. I wondered where they _really_ went. Knowing them, I wouldn't be surprised if they all had rooms at other hotels for the rest of the week. Their own family members weren't the only ones with oversensitive ears this week. Sorry, guys, no sound-proofing here. You'd think they'd be able to contain themselves until their hunting trips.

The next few days passed in a whirl of skiing, board games, and old-fashioned relaxation. While everyone enjoyed the slopes, Billy and Charlie went ice fishing. Edward had made sure to rent them a heated cabin and gear. I was a little concerned for my dad and his chair on ice, but he brushed off my worries. Poor Sue tried to keep up with us the first day, but after seeing the rest of us and our unnatural ease and uncanny ability at all snow sports, she spent the next two days catching up on some reading in her en-suite Jacuzzi. Leah wasn't too thrilled that Alice had taken the liberty of buying her and her mom three snowsuits each, but she had made sure to dry-clean them so that the vampire smell didn't permeate. After a none-too-subtle look from Sue, she and Leah had accepted them with something akin to a smile.

Charlie was amazed to discover that the entire Cullen clan were early risers. Billy and Sue rolled their eyes at him behind his back every morning when he woke up early only to be surprised that the Cullens had already eaten breakfast. Nessie, who had never needed much sleep, was beginning to sleep less and less. She read in our bed until I woke up and then she went down while I showered and dressed.

Everyone, except Leah, was impressed by Nessie's piano playing and, on Christmas Eve, we all gathered around her and sang Christmas carols while she and Edward took turns playing. Just like out of a freaking movie. The Clearwaters had a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve, so we honored it. The couples opened their gifts to each other and I felt bad for my dad, Seth, and Leah. Alice and Rose had each gotten jewelry from their husbands. Alice tried her best to look surprised, but no one was buying it. I felt bad for Jasper. Although, I guess he didn't ever need to try to be romantic.

Edward just shook his head, grinning. "Nope, surprise or not, Alice still expects romance." He had whispered it, so only the wolves and the Cullens laughed while Jasper nodded, sadly. Charlie and Sue were too wrapped up in their presents to notice, Billy just shrugged.

I helped Nessie tie on the new bracelet I had made for her. She had grown out of her old one a few months ago, but I wanted to wait for Christmas to give her a new one. It seemed like a Christmas tradition. I left a little more wiggle room on this one, too. I also added a wolf charm that I had made in my wood sculpture class. Aside from the bracelet, I had bought her the few books she seemed the most hesitant to part with when she had to return them to the library. I made sure to keep that to myself in front of Edward, though I did see his eyebrows shoot up when he saw that I had bought her books. Nessie gave me an iTunes gift card because I refused to use the open-ended account her dad had set-up for her, a photo album with all the pictures Alice had taken of us, and a pewter wolf key chain.

Nessie woke me up on Christmas by jumping up and down on the bed. I had never seen her look more like a seven-year-old. She didn't even believe in Santa and she was still as excited as any other kid on Christmas morning. She met up with her aunt after dragging me downstairs and, together, they jumped around near the trees. An hour later, Nessie, in a child's Santa hat, was passing out everyone's presents. Alice was prancing around, taking pictures while everyone ate breakfast on the couches. I don't think she realized that normal women didn't like being photographed before they had gotten ready for the day. Jasper, looking like an idiot, was grinning as he watched her.

Edward had just come back into the room with coffee for Leah, who was the last to wake up. "What do you think you look like, Jacob?" I would have argued with him, but I realized that I would never have even seen Jasper's face if Nessie hadn't just handed him a present. Edward laughed.

I was sitting next to Seth, who was telling me about a big New Year's Eve party that Emily and Sam were having. "Did you and Nessie want to come?" Nessie looked over at us and she had obviously been listening to our conversation because she nodded.

"I don't know, Bro. I think we were planning on staying here until the second." I looked over at Edward who looked over at Bella. She shrugged.

Edward pointed a finger at me. "You will not drink, Jacob, and you will stay with her in the cottage or the main house." Nessie ran over and hugged her father in thanks.

"Since when does Jacob drink?" Charlie's stern look was nearly as bad as Edward's. My dad rolled his eyes at his friend's face. Seth and Leah had turned their wide eyes towards me. I shrugged, hoping it would end there.

Emmett had other plans, though. "Since last September when Jasper and I got him drunk." He put out a fist towards Jasper, who shook it off, having read the mood of the room. "What?" Looking around, Emmett finally saw Charlie's face. "Oh."

"You two aren't old enough to be drinking, either." He shot a look at Carlisle, for once clearly disappointed in his parenting. It would have been funny if Charlie wasn't so serious.

Esme tried to diffuse the situation. "Don't worry, Charlie. Our boys got a talking to after that. I don't think they'll be drinking for a very long time." He nodded, satisfied with _her_ parenting. Only Esme could have turned Charlie around so instantly.

An hour later, Esme and Sue were working on stuffing the pile of wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows surrounding all of us into trash bags. The Cullens went for their own version of a Christmas feast, while everyone else got ready for the day. Seth and I tagged along, but I didn't eat Nessie's leftovers this time. I had heard everything that Bella and Esme had planned to make for our early Christmas dinner and it sounded so good that I was prepared to skip lunch so that I could gorge myself even more than I normally do.

When we got back, Nessie provided us with background music on the piano while the rest of us relaxed. Seth, Leah, and I all played Monopoly while Charlie, my dad, and Emmett all talked sports. Edward was helping the girls in the kitchen, Rosalie and Alice were upstairs getting ready, and Carlisle and Jasper were reading.

When it was time for dinner, Carlisle said grace before we all dug in. Nessie found the rarest meat she could, while the rest of her family took the smallest portion they could manage. I laughed when Emmett had to take more after Charlie made some comment about how much a guy his size probably eats. He flipped me off with inhuman speed when Nessie and Charlie weren't looking. That made Leah laugh and Emmett winked at her. Funny what werewolves and vampires bond over.

Bella's face was the most amusing to watch. Even after a few days of meals, she hadn't become accustomed to the taste of food. Billy, Sue, and Leah were even stealing glances at the Cullens while they forced food down their throats. Seth just looked sorry for them all. It was so ridiculous that they were doing all this just for Charlie. I felt sorry for Bella when Charlie caught her making a face at one of Sue's dishes. She looked so guilty that I just shook my head. Only Bella would feel guilty for being disgusted by food she was forcing down even though she shouldn't have to be eating in the first place. Edward met my eye and nodded. During dessert and coffee by the fireplace, each of the Cullens excused themselves, discreetly, to go throw up their meal.

Charlie cleared his throat as the fire started to die. "Um..." He looked to Sue for help. She gave him a big, encouraging smile. "Bella, Leah, Seth...um...Sue and I have something to tell you." Oh, crap! I chanced a look over at Leah. Her eyes were nearly bugging out of her head. This was _not_ going to be pleasant.

Sue must have seen the same thing I did in her daughter's face, because she cut in on Charlie. "We're not getting married or anything," she tried to explain quickly.

"No," Charlie agreed. "But...um...I've asked Sue to move in to my house and she's agreed." Huh. I guess that's...cool? Charlie looked at Leah and Seth. "You guys, obviously, wouldn't have to move. Your mom wants to keep the house in La Push. Although, if you wanted to be closer to school, Leah..." He stopped that train of thought when he saw the look on her face and turned to the more accepting Seth. "And, Seth, I know you have...um..." he struggled with the wording "responsibilities...in La Push and school there, but if you wanted to..." He trailed off, leaving the invitation unspoken. Seth seemed to be in a state of shock, quiet for once in his life. Leah was scowling, but she didn't look like she'd be causing a scene. Not tonight, anyway.

I looked at Bella for the first time since Charlie's little announcement. It seemed like everyone looked at her at the same time, ignoring her for the more pressing family drama unfolding before us. She looked a little like Seth looked. Our eyes on her seemed to snap her out of her thoughts. She stood from the sofa a little too quickly and walked over to her dad, a smile on her face. "This is great, Dad." She ignored the too-soft growl that came from Leah's throat as she bent down to hug her dad. "I'm happy for you guys."

He hugged her back, awkwardly. "Thanks, Bells."

"Thank you for making him so happy," she whispered to Sue as they shared a quick hug.

She straightened up and cleared the emotion from her voice. "Well, Dad, I guess you'll never have to learn to cook for yourself." We all laughed a little too loudly, glad to have an excuse to ignore the tension in the room. And, then, it dissipated altogether and Seth and Bella both shot Jasper a grateful look.

Seth followed Bella's example, getting up to hug and kiss his mom and to shake Charlie's hand. Leah didn't say a word. Which, let's be honest, is a lot better than what I think anyone expected from her. After a few more congratulations were sent their way, Charlie and Sue excused themselves for the night.

Jasper threw a few more logs on the fire and, soon, the Cullens were sharing stories of all their Christmases together. After almost a century, they had racked up a lot of memories. I could practically feel the motherly love pouring out of Esme as she watched her children reminisce. It was good for my dad, I think, to see the human side of the Cullens. He even got into the spirit of things, bringing up some old stories about Mom and Christmas that I didn't remember. It was one of the only times I had ever heard him talk about Mom and it was nice. Leah and Seth didn't add anything. Maybe they were still in shock about their mom and Charlie. I guess I would find out the next time we all phased. Ah, the joys of a pack mind.

***

On the last day of the year, it took us seven hours to drive down from our ski cabin back down to La Push. Billy, Charlie, and Sue had all opted to stay the night, and were driving down tomorrow. I was surprised that Leah had decided to come down with us. I didn't expect her to want to go to Sam and Emily's party. When I asked her, she said that some of her new friends from school were throwing a party and she was going to that. Weird. I think she was the first wolf to have really made friends with humans since we phased. Maybe she didn't count them as friends, like I didn't count the guys on my team. We made it home at five and I dropped Seth and Leah off before heading back up to the Cullens'.

Nessie had decided to sleep in her own room in the cottage. I was glad she didn't want to stay in Edward's old room in the main house. There was no way I was sleeping in a bed that Bella and Edward had had sex in. I had already told her I'd sleep as a wolf on her floor, instead. I sat on the edge of her bed while she unpacked. "We got a couple of hours before we have to be at Emily's. You want to go hunt?" I knew that there'd be tons of humans at the party and I wanted her to be comfortable. She had only hunted twice in the ten days we'd been up in Canada. She agreed and we ran around in the woods for longer than was really necessary. It felt good to be home.

She took her shower first, when we got back to the cottage, and then picked out my clothes for the night before sending me into the bathroom. The outfit she picked out was way too nice for a La Push party, and I knew that I'd hear more of the rich-boy crap that Leah had been sending my way all week. I couldn't even blame them, I would have done the same thing to someone else a year and a half ago. Now, I just put on my Nessie-approved outfit with a smile. Hell, I even kissed her on the cheek for it.

We drove the Hummer so that I wouldn't have to phase and redress. There's a reason wolves like to wear only cut-off sweatpants, Nessie and Alice haven't fully grasped that, yet. The party was already in full force by the time we got there. Thankfully, half of the guests had body temperatures that allowed them to stand outside in the freezing weather, allowing the other guests to squeeze themselves into Emily's small house. I said hello to the guys hanging out on the front lawn as they sized up the car we drove up in and my outfit. Get over it, assholes.

Seth met us at the door and he and Nessie greeted each other like it had been four months, not four hours. Although, aside from this week, I guess it had been four months. We made our way into the party, saying our hellos to my sister, Sam, and Emily. I was glad that Leah didn't come. It seemed that, being so close to the wedding, it had become an impromptu engagement party, too.

I was surprised to see Embry. Nessie stayed to hang out with the other imprints while I went up and gave him a hug. He whistled at my clothes and I rolled my eyes. "Your mom finally let you come to one of these things? You should just tell her and be done with it."

He shrugged, taking a long gulp from his drink. "She's been laying off recently since I've been hanging out with my cousins. And, tonight, Emily invited half of the Makah rez, too. So, my mom let me go to a party with my cousins, she just didn't know it was going to be at Sam's."

"Emily knows your cousins?"

"Ah, you know how these tribes are. Everybody's everybody's cousin."

I laughed because I knew that that was _exactly_ how it was. That was why there was an obscene amount of wolves. "I know, bro. One day Sam's going to have to go up to Neah Bay when a kid up _there_ phases."

He laughed. "Probably, bro."

Man, I didn't realize how much I had missed Embry. It felt like a lifetime ago when it was just him, Sam, Jared, and Paul. When Quil and I mourned for our lost friend. "Hey, remember when I dragged you and Quil to Bella's graduation party at the Cullens'?"

He chuckled, taking another drink from his plastic cup. "More like Quil and I wouldn't let you go to the bloodsuckers' lair without bodyguards." It was weird hearing that word, again. Bloodsucker, parasite, leech, it was so much easier to say all those words when the girl you loved didn't survive on the stuff. I didn't hold it against Embry, though, and I didn't try to correct him. Old habits die hard. In fact, Seth was the only wolf beside me that didn't call them that.

Embry and I caught up for a while and then Sam came over and pulled me aside. "Hey, Jake, I need to talk to you."

He led me outside and into the woods. "What's up, Sam? Is everything okay?" He didn't seem like he was worried when we were at the party. Was that just to keep Emily calm?

"Everything's fine, Jake. Calm down. I just wanted to talk to you without someone overhearing. I mean, everyone's going to know about it, eventually, I just wanted to tell you first. You know, Alpha to Alpha. I owe you that."

"Okay. So what's up?"

"Well, Emily and I have been talking and, well, sometime after we get married, I want to stop phasing."

_What? _"What does that mean? For me, I mean? I can't take over the pack. You know that, Sam."

"I know, I know. I mean, I would want you to take over for me, but I understand why you can't. I guess I just need to know who you'd make Alpha. I mean, shit, I don't even know how to do this? Can I just _appoint _someone? Do I step down and then the next in line just presents himself?" Wow. I had never heard Sam cuss before. He must be torn up about this.

"It's none of my business and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but why? I mean, why are you giving it up?"

"Well, Emily and I are almost the same age now, physically, you know? And we want to start a family soon. I can't be doing this the rest of my life, Jake. I know it's only been a few years since the responsibility of the entire pack was mine, but I've been doing the wolf thing for too long, now. I need to go to school so I can support a family. I need to give Emily the same devotion I've been giving the pack. It's not fair to keep putting her second, you know?"

I nodded, because I really did. Nessie was more important to me than the Alphaship, than my pack. It was about time that Sam realized Emily was just as important. I guess I just figured that they had come to an understanding about that a long time ago. Maybe they had. Maybe he was always going to give it up when they got married. "Well, let's think about this. Who's next in line? Leah and Seth, right?"

He nodded. "No way Leah goes for it, although I guess it is technically hers. I mean, I don't want to sound like the sexist asshole here, but, it is hers, right? I don't know. Should I talk to the elders, first? That might be awkward with Sue. Should their mom find out before they do? So, do we talk to Leah? Talk to Seth? Would either of them give up your pack for their own?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I think you're right about Leah not wanting it. All she wants to do is control herself enough to stop phasing. As much as she'd like the power trip of being Alpha, I don't think she'd give up her freedom for it. As for Seth, well, I know he wants to go to college next year. Maybe Quil is the best bet..." I exhaled, sharply. "I don't know, bro, this doesn't feel right, you know? We shouldn't be deciding this ourselves." He nodded, lost in his thoughts. "How have you managed to keep this from your pack?"

He laughed, mirthlessly. "They tend to stop listening when I start thinking about the wedding."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm leaving this Sunday. We'll talk on Saturday morning, okay? I just need to process this a little." He nodded again, still lost in his thoughts. "How long after the wedding were you planning on handing over the reigns?"

He shrugged. "The end of the summer, maybe the end of the year."

"Then we've got time, Sam. Don't worry about it. I'm serious. You've given too much of yourself to this. It'll work out, you're not letting anyone down." He looked up at me, obviously not convinced by my words. "And, thanks, Sam. For taking over for me when I first phased. You're a great Alpha." He shrugged. "No, really, you are. We all couldn't have done it without you. I was scared out of my mind when I first phased, until I heard you and Embry. But you, you were the first, you had to do it alone for a really long time. You deserve to start living your own life, now. Emily deserves it. Just remember who you're doing this for." He nodded, a bit more confidently than before.

His head snapped up and he held my gaze. "You're a great Alpha, too, Jake. I would have followed you."

"I know, Sam. That means a lot." It had been a long time since I'd felt this connection with Sam. We weren't two kids, or even two men, talking, we were two leaders collaborating. And all I could think was, how the Hell had this happened to us? Was it really only three years ago that I was scrawny little Jacob Black living a normal life in La Push? Was it really only five years ago that Sam was pledging his undying love to Leah Clearwater? Would we even change it all if we could? "It's sort of an end of an era, huh? Sam Uley, the first Alpha in 80 years."

We talked for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. Something, if I was being honest with myself, we had never done. He was always Sam the Alpha. He distanced himself from us in a way. I knew why he did it, we wouldn't have listened to him if we thought of him as an equal. Still, it must have been lonely for him. Alone within the pack. And then, when I broke off, there was too much resentment between us to forge a friendship. This was nice, though.

A half-hour later, Sam and I walked back to Emily's. As we got to the backyard, I found Nessie and Seth looking through a big cardboard box. "What are you guys looking at?"

Seth pulled out a long paper cylinder. "Sam put me and Nessie in charge of fireworks." Only Seth would get excited about a crappy assignment. Sure, everybody loves to play with fire, but they only gave the job to Seth because he doesn't have an imprint. No imprint means no kissing at midnight which means he's free to set off the fireworks. I guess Nessie was just as into it as he was. Great. The only thing that can hurt the kid, and she's all over it. Though, I guess that's probably half the draw.

"So where are we launching them?" Nessie's head shot up. I know that look, it's the same one Alice gets before she takes off to plan something. Here comes an evil genius idea. Seth's eyes bugged out at the same second I saw an image Nessie put in my mind.

"Wow, Nessie! How'd you do that?"

I forgot Seth hadn't learned about all of Nessie's new skills, yet. "Yeah. She doesn't have to touch you anymore to do it." He nodded down at her, impressed. She just shrugged. She was no longer impressed by that, she had newer tricks. "She can also pull thoughts from your head, too. But she has to touch you to do that."

"No way! Mind-reading? Like Edward?"

She shrugged, but tried to explain. "I can't hear them all the time like he can, but I can get you to think about whatever I want and then see it. It's almost more like Aro's ability, I can see someone's memories." She shrugged, again. "What did you think of my plan, though?"

She had shown us swimming out to our island, so that we can launch them there. "It's perfect, Nessie. You'll just have to sit on my back with the box while I swim out," I responded. She nodded in agreement.

After we finished looking through everything, we went back inside for some food. We still had an hour before midnight and it would only take us a half hour to swim out there and set everything up. Embry wasn't kidding about Emily inviting everyone from Neah Bay. I didn't know half the people at the party. Quil was there with Claire and her parents. I had never met them before. I guess I'd see them at the wedding, too. Emily's sister-in-law was going to be the Maiden of Honor. I didn't even know there was such a thing.

After Seth and I finished eating, the three of us made our way outside to get the fireworks. Embry followed us a minute later. I was surprised to see him, especially because I was sure none of us had told him about the fireworks. "Hey, Embry, you coming with us?"

He spun around, noticing us for the first time. Okay, so maybe he hadn't followed us out here. "Huh? Uh, sure." Was he drunk? I guess I didn't notice what was in that cup he had with him. We were halfway to the beach when he finally looked around. "Where are we going?" We all laughed, but none of us bothered telling him.

Nessie waited for us on the beach, having converted her bag in to a waterproof backpack, with the box of fireworks. I smiled when I stepped out and saw her playing with a stone, because I knew it would be in a vase in her room in a week. Embry had stripped and phased after Seth and I had already made our way to the beach, our own waterproof bags at our thighs. He still didn't know what the hell we were doing.

Suddenly, all I saw was a girl's face. She was twelve or thirteen, with large, almond-shaped, brown eyes. All I felt was love tied in with the vision of this girl. She was in Emily's house, dancing innocently to the music Sam had put on the stereo. When she looked at me...

_Holy shit, Embry! You imprinted? _Seth was wagging his tail, circling Embry as he walked out of the woods.

_Is that what this is? I feel..._

_I know. _I tried to help him sort it out. We could hear Seth's decision to stay out of the conversation. He went to sit next to Nessie, who looked confused. _It doesn't change._

_She's so young._

_Look at Nessie._

_That's different, Nessie's a kid. This girl is...young._

_Did you talk to her?_

_No. I just saw her and felt funny, so I went outside to get some air. It feels weird to be away from her._

_It gets easier...kinda._

_Oh, man. _Reality had just hit him. _Oh, man. I imprinted! Oh, man. Did you see her? Oh, man. She's _beautiful. _Oh, man. What am I going to do? Should I tell her? Should I tell her I'm a wolf? What if she hates me? Oh, man. I need to go back! Who is she? Oh, man. Who is she?_

We started seeing the scene replay from Seth's perspective. _What's going on, Se— _I saw Nessie's hand on his paw.

_Oh, I see. You're seeing it in a delay, huh? _Seth asked her, knowing she would see it soon enough. A few seconds later, we heard his question asked, again, and she nodded.

_Embry, you have to go back. Go to Sam. He'll know what to do._ He was just pacing around, thinking about the girl and the moment their eyes met, over and over again. _Phase back, first. It'll give you more time to think._ He nodded his big wolf head and walked, still dazed, back to the woods. A few seconds later, his consciousness left ours.

_She doesn't know, Seth._ I said, as soon as I saw Nessie's hand leave Seth.

He looked down at her. _Do you think she figured it out?_

_I don't know. C'mon, let's get going. _I walked over to Nessie and she jumped on my back, still carrying the box.

As I waded out into the ocean, Seth came up behind me. _So, Embry imprinted._

_I guess so. Good for him._

_Kind of an awkward age for an imprint, you know?_

_All too well, Seth. Nessie will be that age, one day._

_Do you know who she is? _He was thinking about her face, again.

_Nope. Never seen her before. There are a lot of people from the Makah rez there. Maybe she's with them._

_She'd be the second Makah imprint. Maybe I should go up there..._

I rolled my eyes. _Yeah, and maybe you should go looking for some vampire-human hybrids, while you're at it. _

He barked a laugh. _You think he'll tell her?_

_I think we'll know if he phases back. I don't think she'll believe him if he doesn't show her. Hey, don't bring it up if Nessie doesn't, okay?_

_Sure, Jake._

We made it to our island and phased back, dressed, and started to climb behind Nessie. By the time we got to the top we saw Nessie furiously setting up the launcher and I rushed to help her.

"Aw, crap!" Both of us looked over at Seth. "How will we know when it's midnight?"

Nessie and I let out an exasperated sigh at the same time. I looked over to see Nessie standing with her hands on her hips, her annoyance was clearly aimed at Seth. I laughed. Hooking a thumb at her, I told him, "Meet Miss Atomic Clock."

He sheepishly smiled at Nessie. "Sorry, Nessie. I forgot."

She shrugged and projected a digital countdown clock in our heads. _01:26._ Seth and I set up the order we'd launch them in and then sat back and waited for the countdown to get closer to zero.

***

It had been harder than I though to sleep every night without Nessie. I felt like I owed it to my dad to stay with him, though, while we were in town. I slept in the living room, now, having given up my room to Rachel when I left. It wasn't so bad. Sleeping as a wolf made it a little easier, old carpeting was still more comfortable than hard earth. Paul was pissed that I had scared Rachel one night when she tripped over me in the dark. She was fine, he was just pissed that Sam still hadn't lifted the injunction that barred them from phasing in front of their imprints.

Today was my last Friday on the Rez before we went back home. It was also my birthday. My 18th birthday. I wasn't too excited about it as I woke up. My birthday is the only day I really consider myself to be an immortal Usually I see it more like I'm incapable of growing older. There's a difference. I think there are larger implications of being immortal. Things like knowing everyone is going to grow old and die around you. My dad, my sisters, my packmates, Charlie, everyone. I don't like thinking about stuff like that. Being immortal separates me from them in that way. If I just say that I can't grow older, I'm not any different than my packmates. I don't blame Nessie for forcing me into immortality, I mean, how can you really _blame_ anyone for that. Oh, how horrible, I will have to be with my soul mate for all eternity. Poor me. Still, my birthday puts my choice to be with her in a harsh perspective that I can usually avoid the other days of the year. It's stupid to even be thinking about, it's not like my dad's old or anything.

I took a shower and dressed while my sister made me breakfast. "Happy Birthday," she said, kissing my cheek as she set my plate in front of me.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" I admit it, I squealed a little. She laughed and nodded.

"Happy birthday, son." He was already eating his breakfast at the table.

"Thanks, dad. Thanks for breakfast, Rach." My phone rang. Nessie. I ran over to my bag that was sitting by the door. "Hey, Nessie."

"Hi, Jacob." Good, she doesn't know it's my birthday. I sat back down and dug into my breakfast. "Can we hang out down in La Push today?"

"Um hmm."

She giggled. "Are you eating?"

"Um hmm."

She giggled, again. "Okay, I'll run over by myself so you can finish your breakfast."

I swallowed, not bothering to finish chewing as much as I should have. Ugh, that was uncomfortable. "I don't think so, kid. Just wait for me to go get you."

There was silence for a beat. "I am more than capable of finding my own way, _Jacob_." Crap. I heard a whoosh as she ran, and then, "Daddy, can I run over to Jacob's?" Oh well, there's no way he'll let her.

"Sure, sweetheart. Just be home early." Traitor.

I expected her to be angry with me by the time she came over, but she seemed to be in a good mood. It was infectious and, by the time we had to go back to her house, I realized I had had a pretty good birthday. I left her in the living room, watching fuzzy TV, while I went to take a shower. We had spent most of the afternoon on our island and I needed to wash off the salt water from me. After I showered I realized that I no longer had a room to change in and I had left all of my clothes in my luggage which was sitting in the living room. I wrapped a towel around my waist and slowly opened the bathroom door. Nessie had laid out clothes for me. They were a little nicer than I would have picked out, but then, I guess I shouldn't have packed them.

It was a pain to dress, just to undress and phase, but that's what I did. Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the cottage, waiting for Nessie to get ready. I was surprised when I heard a blow dryer because Nessie always lets her hair air dry. She came out wearing a dress. It wasn't one of those poofy Easter dresses they usually make for girls her age, it was just a nice dress. I figured she just wanted to match the too-nice dress shirt she had picked out for me.

"You look beautiful, Nessie."

She blushed and took my hand. "Follow me." She led me away from the house, to a point where the river crossed just off their property. I didn't question after we just jumped across, until she jumped on my back and a scarf around my eyes.

"Hey! Nessie? What are you doing?" I tried to grab her, but she dodged my half-assed efforts.

"Happy Birthday, Jacob." She whispered in my ear and then jumped off of my back.

I was swinging my head around wildly, like an idiot, trying to find her in my blindness. "You knew all day?"

"Uh huh." I could hear the smile in her voice.

I heard, and smelled, the rest of the family approaching and I stood still until they surrounded me. "So, what's such a big surprise that I need this?" I gestured towards my eyes.

"_Nessie!_" I heard Alice admonish her niece. "Is that your mother's Hermès scarf? You're going to ruin the silk with that knot!"

Rolling my eyes was uncomfortable under the circumstances, but I did it, anyway.

"I didn't know. Momma used it wrap my picture frames when we moved."

"_Bella!_" The pixie screeched, but everyone else laughed. I could practically hear Bella shrug, nonplussed.

Nessie grabbed my hand and started leading me to my surprise. It was pointless to blindfold me, but I let her have her fun. As soon as we started walking, my inhuman sense of direction let me know exactly where we were headed. I wondered why she wouldn't let me cross the river in the backyard. Was that where my gift was? As soon as we got to the front yard and veered west, I groaned. The garage? _Really?_ There was only one gift they'd leave in the garage.

Edward chuckled beside me. "You might as well take the blindfold off, Renesmee. He's already figured it out."

She sighed, jumping on my back, and the blindfold came off. There, beside the rented Hummers, was the most gorgeous car I have laid eyes on.

Bella came up to me and opened my frozen hand enough to slip the keys in. She had to hop to kiss me on the cheek because I was in no state to bend down and help her. "Happy Birthday, Jake. It's from all of us."

I didn't need to look at the keys to know the brand, even though I had never seen one on the road. It was a Spyker, a Spyker D12, there were only 250 in existence, and I was holding the keys. I expected to have to repeat my "gracefully" mantra to myself, but I didn't. I just looked around at all the faces surrounding me, the faces of my family, and smiled. Beamed, actually. Grinned like an idiot, truthfully. "Thank you!" I shouted over and over again. They let out a collective sigh, obviously anticipating a bad reaction. I guess I had been, too. I was too busy jumping up and down, hugging Bella and Esme and Alice and Rosalie. Blondie pushed me away from her the second I got her in my arms, but it was worth it to get my smell on her party clothes. Then I went around and shook all the guys hands while they patted me on the back. Finally, I picked up Nessie and swung her around while she giggled.

Keeping her in my arms, I walked us over to the car, _my_ car, and unlocked the doors. Its black body looked like an old hot-rod, even though they sold this thing as a small SUV. The chrome details, airplane propeller hubcaps, and its suicide back doors make it unique. It was beautiful on the outside, but the inside was nothing short of bad-ass. The interior, covered in saffron leather and chrome, looked like the inside of a cockpit. The roof was made up of four widows, six if you counted the rear windshield, and it was like an enclosed convertible. They had obviously tinted them, making the car look all-black.

The real wonder of this car, _my_ car, though, was under the hood. I popped it with the hand not holding Nessie and walked us over to ogle the engine. Edward followed us. "We knew you were comfortable with VW's so—"

"Yeah," I interrupted. "This has the VW W12 engine, only two VW's even have this engine. It can go zero to 60 in 5 seconds flat, has 500 horsepower, and has a top speed of 168."

"195," Rosalie corrected. "I tweaked it to match the W12 Coupe's 24-hour endurance record." I must have looked shocked because Rosalie was soon replaced by Blondie. "I didn't do it for you, dog. I just knew that you'd screw up a beautiful engine if you tried to do it yourself."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Nothing was going to ruin my mood right now, not even Blondie. "You know, I used to think you actually hated me, Blondie. But the more you fight me, the more I think you're just fighting the urge to kiss me. Emmett won't mind, baby." I blew her a kiss and winked. She fumed and when she heard the rest of her family laugh, including her husband, she just stormed off back into the house. Nessie giggled into my neck.

Bella got into the driver's seat, petting the interior. "I gotta admit, Jake. This _is_ pretty." Nessie nodded beside my head.

"It's not _pretty_, you guys. It's freaking _gorgeous!_"

She rolled her eyes. "It's just a car, Jake. It's not like we don't have eight of them, already."

I thought of the price tag and expected to cringe. Instead, I just felt the same joy I had been feeling all day. I looked over at Jasper. "You doing anything?" He shook his head and winked at Nessie. Huh. I guess she'd been worried the most. "Not like this, you don't. This car is the most expensive one the Cullens own." She looked surprised and looked at Edward for confirmation.

He nodded his head. "Technically, he's right, but your _before_ car was more expensive."

Now, _I_ was surprised. "What was her _before _car?" I hadn't been around to see her truck die.

"A Guardian."

I laughed. "A _Guardian?_ Expecting to run into any rival drug lords on the mean streets of Forks?"

She crossed her arms and glared at her husband. "No. Edward was just afraid of putting his destructible fiancé in anything that couldn't withstand a tank's attack."

I nodded, laughing. Knowing Bella's human luck, it wasn't entirely uncalled for. Still beaming with happiness I looked my car over. "I still can't believe that this is _my_ car! I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I have to ask...Why?"

It was Jasper that answered me. He was obviously riding my excitement, and his speech was a little too fast. "Well, we all wanted to get you a car for your 18th. So, instead of fighting over it, we just went in on one." I smiled at the rest of my family, who nodded their agreement. Man, four sets of millionaires fighting over who would buy me a car. No wonder I got _this_ car. "Edward wanted to get you something with 4-wheel-drive because your Rabbit can't really handle the snow that well. And Alice looked at those car magazines you had left at our house before the move and this was the only SUV that you had looked at."

That's true. I remember that I had once read an article on the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. I had dog-eared the page with this car, thinking it was the most bad-ass car I had ever seen. Only 250 were made a year because they were hand-built and it went for a crisp $300,000. I laughed, incredulously. "Oh, I marked it, so I got it?" I laughed harder at the sheer absurdity of that logic. Nessie giggled alongside me, not caring why I was laughing, just riding out my great mood. "Oh, Jacob likes the only SUV that costs more than a house? Okay, then."

"I was just surprised that the pages it was on weren't stuck together." Emmett roared at his own crude joke and Jasper and I laughed along, Alice rolled her eyes. I didn't care that the joke was at my expense, I was in too good of a mood. Esme and Bella didn't get it. Their husbands both shot Emmett a glare, but didn't explain it to their wives. Bella just shrugged at Nessie's questioning look. Hell, I was surprised Edward and Carlisle actually understood what he was talking about. Emmett just winked at Edward. "It was also the only SUV Edward here could find that had bucket seats in the back, too." I didn't get it. What did that matter? He came up next to me and patted my shoulder with a faked sad smile. "Nope, you're never getting laid in this car!"

Nessie blushed and looked down. My good mood all but vanished for a few seconds. Did she know that he was talking about her? Edward growled. I suspected that some of it was aimed at me, even though he was looking at Emmett. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. Yup, some it was aimed at me. I slugged Emmett in the arm, and he laughed, completely unaffected by our anger. Maybe she was just embarrassed that he was talking about sex, or jealous like she had been at Homecoming.

I decided to change the subject. "Who wants to go for a ride first?"

Esme shook her head. "Uh uh. You have guests coming."

How she managed to take on the roll of my mother so completely, I'd never know. Did she study sitcoms or something? Maybe whining would win her over, I've seen Emmett use it on her with pretty good results. Edward hid his amusement at my thoughts behind his hand. "Aw. Just around the block?"

She rolled her eyes. "You better be home in five minutes." I stopped long enough to kiss her on the cheek before running to the car, Nessie bouncing in my arms. Jasper and Emmett were already in the back seats, playing with the in-roof switches. I moaned when I started the car keylessly, with the button in the center dashboard.

The party was nice. I was glad that Alice, Esme, and Bella had thought to coordinate with Emily to invite all of Sam's pack, even if only a few of them showed up. Seth, Sue and Charlie showed up first. After most of the guests had arrived, I sneaked off with Nessie and Seth to show him my car. I didn't really want to put in on display. I had gotten enough shit from Leah over Christmas about my clothes and I knew that everybody from La Push would probably respond the same way about the car. Seth was the only one I trusted not to judge me and the lifestyle the Cullens now afforded me. Billy, Rachel, and Paul were getting out of Paul's car as we walked out of the garage and I silenced Seth with a look before he could say anything about my present.

It was unnecessary, though. "Hey, son. Showing off your car to whoever'll listen?"

"Yeah. You knew about it?" He just nodded as he rolled over to house. I gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek, grudgingly shook hands with Paul, and then carried my dad's chair up the stairs and into the living room. Bella and Edward came over to say hi and then moved aside so that my dad could go find Charlie. Rachel and Paul went out back where most of the wolves were. Leah had shown up at some point and I noticed that Embry was the only one from my pack that wasn't here.

Seth and I went to the buffet and began filling our plates. Nessie was still with us, she hadn't left my side at all today and I was glad. "Did Embry say he was coming later, or something?"

I had asked Seth, but Nessie answered. "When his mom heard about the party, she sent him up to the Neah Bay for the day."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at Seth. "I told him to just tell her. Why does he even keep it from her?" He shrugged as we sat down in front of the fire and dug into his dinner.

Esme had had the guys build three fire pits in the backyard this morning. Or, so Nessie had said. She felt guilty about having the party here and not in La Push and had wanted to at least give me a home-like atmosphere. It was a good thing that she had built three. One was vampires-only, one had the wolves, and the humans made up the one in between the rival groups. Alice was the only vampire on the wolves' turf. She and Emily were engrossed in Emily's wedding planning folder. I felt bad for Leah. As one of the bridesmaids, she had been roped into their conversation. I still hadn't come to any decisions about my talk with Sam tomorrow morning. Maybe I'd ask Edward and Jasper what they think, later. Carlisle and Esme were sitting with Billy, Charlie, and Sue. Seth, Nessie, and I were sitting with them, too. I wasn't going to choose between my two families tonight.

Seth heard him coming, first. His head cocked to the side at the same time the Cullens did and a split-second before the rest of the wolves did. It was obviously a wolf. The wind carried his scent to us. "I thought Embry couldn't come?"

Seth just shrugged. "That's what he told me this morn—"

But I stopped paying attention to Seth when Nessie gasped and fell to the floor next to me. She landed in the same seated position she had been in, knees and forehead to the ground, and she was clutching at her chest while gasping in pain. I couldn't do anything but kneel beside her, repeating her name, louder and more hysterically as she didn't respond. Carlisle and Edward were at her side before I could reach for her. I was afraid to touch her.

I heard Bella screaming behind me, "What's wrong with her, Edward? What is she thinking?"

But Edward didn't look at her, he looked over her shoulder to the rest of his family. Nessie convulsed harder and faster. Tears rushed down my face and I lashed out. Carlisle was closest. "For fuck's sake, _do_ something, Doc!" He didn't seem phased by my tone. In fact, he looked as helpless as I felt as he moved his arms around his granddaughter, pointlessly.

Bella was now dry sobbing behind me. "Dammit, Edward! What's wrong with her?" But Edward wasn't there, Burning Man was in his place and he was still looking over his wife's shoulder in horror. I would have bet good money that my face made his look pleasant. I had never felt so horrible in all of my life. I wrapped my arms around my chest in a morbid homage to the Bella I knew when Edward left and went back to my chanting.

It had only been fifteen seconds since Nessie collapsed when I became vaguely aware of someone calling my name. I ignored it. There was only one person whose voice I wanted to hear saying my name right now, and she was writhing in pain in front of me and I couldn't do a single goddamn thing about it. But it persisted to the point of annoyance and I inhumanly roared, "What?" towards the source, baring my teeth in the process.

Embry stood in the clearing that was the Cullen's backyard, behind the river. He was seemingly oblivious to the scene playing out around him and the belligerence in my reply. When he spoke he was calm and emotionless. "We need to talk."

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Another cliffhanger to stew in your mind.


	7. Book One: Part Seven

_Author's Note:_ I cannot, in good conscience, post without even mentioning the nearly month-long hiatus-that-wasn't-a-hiatus. As a means of explanation, I feel like my readers should understand my writing process. The first thing you should know is that I live within a very unusual sleep schedule. Instead of sleeping every night, I sleep every other night for a longer period of time. This allows me to have a 36-40 hour day. Secondly, as my sleep schedule may imply, I don't work a normal 9 to 5 job. I'm a temp, which means I only work when I get a call. When I do work, it screws up my entire routine and I have to go back to a normal sleep-everyday schedule. Lastly, it should be understood that I can only work when there is absolutely no one around me and that I can only write in one spot at my in-law's house. Anywhere else provides me too much distraction. This particular writing spot forces me to stare at a door with my back to an large, tauntingly interesting window.

My daily routine: I wake up late, having gone to bed in the late evening and gotten a good 8-12 hour sleep to make up for my very long "yesterday." I eat lunch at my in-law's before beginning to work. I'm usually guaranteed a few hours before everyone comes home from work. Then, absolutely nothing is accomplished, aside from maybe some research, until everyone goes to bed. My husband, the ever-understanding man that he is, spends every other night in his parents' guest room while I stay up. I then have a few hours from midnight or so on to work, until everyone wakes up. Then, after making small talk and having breakfast with my mother-in-law, everyone leaves for work and I'm alone again until they come back. I only work Monday through my usual Friday update. Weekends are when I catch up on the FanFics I read, seeing as there is far too much activity for me to write. It takes an entire week to write the 12,000+ words I write per section. Mondays are a semi-wasted day as it's usually spent brain-storming and staring at a blank page. Thursdays into Fridays are when I get my ass in gear. When I do put on my grown-up hat and begrudgingly go off to file and answer phones for The Man, my entire schedule is shot to hell, considering I get most work done in the early morning hours and during the late mornings to early afternoons.

On to my excuse: Having said all that, this was an extremely hard chapter to write. As an assumption of pure hubris, I actually believed they would become easier and easier to write as I became more and more entrenched within the story. I was wrong. This part contains several key concepts central to my own canon whilst incorporating those from Mrs. Meyer's. I knew I couldn't screw this up without serious ramifications for the rest of the storyline. On top of the days of writers' block, I also worked as a receptionist for two solid weeks during this time.

In short, after a very lengthy take-pity-on-me set-up, I apologize. I sincerely hope, for the sake of my own mental health, that my updates go back to the weekly Friday ones that I love to write and deliver.

_Stephenie Meyer:_ I have taken liberties with your beautiful and flawless intellectual property in this section. Thank you for allowing me to twist your words for my own devious amusement and, hopefully, the amusement of others.

* * *

***  
_  
__**Tomorrow when I wake up I'm finding my brother  
and making him take me back down to the water.  
That lake where we sailed and laughed with our father.  
I will not desert him. I will not desert him.**_

--Bright Eyes  
_When the Curious Girl Realizes She is Under Glass_

***

I ignored Embry and turned my attention back to the fire-illuminated scene. Edward still wasn't looking at Nessie and I followed his gaze for once. He was having a silent conversation with Jasper. Jasper! "What the hell are you waiting for, Jasper? Knock her out!"

"_What?_" Charlie spoke for the first time since Nessie collapsed. Actually, it was the first time that anyone besides Embry, Bella, and I had said a word. To be honest, until then, I had completely forgotten that anyone was around _but_ the Cullens, had completely forgotten that we were in the middle of my birthday party.

Nessie began whimpering. I couldn't take it. I finally reached out and touched her, even though I was still afraid that my touch may make the pain worse, somehow. I rubbed circles on her back like I do sometimes when she's sleeping. "Jasper!" I growled his name, upset that the one person who could take away Nessie's pain, at least temporarily, wasn't doing anything. That horrible feeling I had had since she fell was even worse when I touched her. I was shaking, now, and I pulled my hand away from her. Just to be safe.

"Do it, Jasper." Edward whispered for only supernatural ears, Carlisle nodded silently, still staring down at his granddaughter._** "**_I know the consequences, just do it."

Nessie immediately slumped into a heap. Edward had her cradled to him before I could do it myself. He stood up and so did I. We could only stare at each other, our faces matching masks of worry.

"What the _hell_ did he do to her?" Charlie was up and on his feet, shaking with anger. "How...?" I guess these were the consequences that Edward had been talking about.

"Dad, calm down." Bella went around the fire pit to comfort her father, her eyes never leaving her unconscious daughter in her husband's arms. Sue had already tried to stroke Charlie's arm, but he had brushed off her hand.

"I will _not_ calm down! What the hell just happened?" Uh oh. I looked back and forth between Bella and Edward to see how they were going to handle this. Maybe I should take Nessie off his hands, put her on a bed inside or back in her room.

Edward didn't turn to me as he whispered. He held Charlie's gaze, all the while taking in his father-in-law's never-ceasing verbal rant and, I'd guess, his internal one, too. The wolves were preparing to leave, not oblivious to the fact that they were intruding on a familial crisis. Some birthday party this turned out to be. "You need to talk to Embry, it's important."

I sighed in frustration. He _was_ in my pack and, though I was willing to bet good money that this only had something to do with his imprint, it _was_ my responsibility to handle it. I still had to deal with Sam stepping down as Alpha, too. I doubt I'd get a chance to get some advice from Edward and Jasper on that, after all. It was all starting to seem like a little too much. And what if Nessie wakes up while I'm gone? What if they figure out what was wrong with her? I couldn't have them coming to any decisions about how to deal with all of this while I wasn't around.

"Alice has already seen that we'll be dealing with Charlie for a while." Edward said, under his breath. _And you'll come and get me if anything happens to Nessie?_ He nodded, solemnly.

Bella was still trying to calm her father down, while I jumped the river and stood beside Embry. "As wolves?" I wasn't in the mood for full sentences and, from the look on his face, neither was he.

"Easier," Embry conceded.

Silently, we walked back beyond the tree line. I undressed, cursing the button up shirt that Nessie had picked out for me, and phased. At least I didn't wear my watch and bracelet. I didn't even bother folding my clothes when I put them in my bag, I just shoved them in.

The first I saw when our consciousnesses merged was the girl, the face of his imprint. I sighed, sitting on my haunches while he paced in front of me. _I really don't have time to talk about _your_ imprint when _mine_ needs me._

_It's not just about Brianna._

_You know her name, now?_

_Yeah. She's Makah. Her mom's younger sister is friends with Emily. That's why she was at the party on Tuesday. She's not why I'm here, though. Well, not really. _His mind was flooded with images, all moving too fast for me to make sense of.

_Slow down, Embry. What happened?_

He showed me how he had gone back to the party after leaving us on the beach with the fireworks. How he had questioned Emily before shyly approaching her. She was young, but immediately seemed to have a crush on him. He went on to show me how he had slept outside her house every night since, too afraid to leave her. _It's hard not to worry about them, huh? _

I just nodded.

_I followed her around for a few days. _He showed me that he had finally let her run into him. They talked for hours, but he was still too nervous to tell her that he was a wolf and that she was his imprint. They held hands on the way to her house and, when he dropped her off, he had kissed her. _I know she's only 13, bro, but it's not like that. I'm not going to take it any farther than I already have. I mean, she's not too young to kiss and hold hands, right? _He was anxious about their kiss, but it didn't seem like it was the reason for the turmoil that I had sensed within him since we first phased. He agreed with assessment. _Well, it _is_ kinda the reason that everything happened. See, someone saw us. I know it's looks bad, especially since I look ten years older than her. And, somehow, it got back to my mom._

I winced.

_Yeah. So, me and my mom kinda had it out. When I told her that I loved Brianna, she went ape shit. She stared crying about how she didn't know me at all and called me a pedophile. So, yeah, I finally get _that_, by the way. I'll never tease you and Quil that way, again. So, anyway, then she started asking me about what's been going on with me for the past two years. I know, I know. You think I should just tell her. But I've just been so pissed off at her for so long. So, I told her I'd tell everything if she would just answer me one question._

And then, suddenly, everything clicked. I realized why Embry _liked_ having a secret from his mom. Not just a secret, but an important, life-altering secret. It was only fair, she had always had one from him. _Embry...who's your father? _He stopped pacing and looked me dead in the eye. Then, I saw an image of his father, an image of _my_ father. The audio accompanying the image was the voice of Embry's mom. "Billy, Embry. Billy Black."

I left Embry standing alone in the forest while I ran away. I'm an insensitive prick and I know it. I didn't want to be linked to his thoughts any more, so, I phased. I was actually pretty surprised that I was able to phase back in the state I was in. I had never been more furious in my life. How could my father...I winced. How could _Billy_ have kept this from me? He had to have known after Embry phased for the first time that this would come out eventually. What was he _thinking?_

In an instant, the entirety of my relationship with my father had changed. I could no longer respect him, no longer trust him. It felt like my heart had been crushed within my chest.

I threw on my underwear and the extra cut-offs I had in my bag and rushed back to the Cullens'. I tried to focus only on the trees moving past me as I ran. I didn't want to deal with it. I couldn't. Nessie needed me and she came first. Edward and Bella were waiting for me by the back door. "You knew that was coming?"

Edward nodded while Bella ran over and hugged me. "I'm so sorry, Jake."

"Sure, sure." I pulled her away from me. I didn't want to think about this. Not now. Not ever. "There are more important things to worry about. How's Nessie? Has Carlisle figured out what happened, yet?"

"She's still asleep." Well, that answered my first question, but not my second. He sighed. "Let's go inside."

"Billy's not here, is he?" I didn't want to see him.

Bella shook her head. "He and Sue took my dad back to La Push."

I slumped into an armchair in the living room. I was emotionally exhausted and I wanted this day to be over. Happy birthday to me. Everyone but Carlisle was there, I could hear him talking in the other room. He must have been on the phone. "So, what's going on? Who is Carlisle talking to?"

It was Jasper who answered, with a question. "Were you in a good mood all day?" Huh?

"Yeah, I've been having a _great_ birthday, thanks for asking, jackass." But the truth is, I had been. Up until Nessie collapsed, it had been the best birthday I had ever had. I sighed when Jasper gave me a look that told me he was completely serious. "Yeah. I mean, I guess. Why?"

"I told you she did it, Edward." Edward ignored his brother, but ran his fingers through his hair in a show of frustrated acceptance of Jasper's words. "I've been teaching Nessie to project emotions since the fall."

"What? Why?"

"For you." I could sense from Edward's voice that he wasn't too thrilled about that. I guess I wasn't either if it meant that I had something to do with what happened to her today. "She wanted to do this for you for your birthday."

"But how?"

"She actually figured it out on her own." Carlisle walked back into the room and we all looked to him as he spoke. "She knows that her emotions can be shown through her projections and she wanted to find a way to project an emotion without projecting an image. So, I suggested that Jasper start coming to our practice sessions to help her."

"And it worked?"

Jasper shrugged. "You tell us. At first we just thought she wanted a new way of using her power because she had been so unimpressed by her progress. But, as soon as she was able to project without skin contact and she realized her goal for today was actually possible, she told us her plan."

"What does this have to do with what happened to her today?"

Bella, who was sitting on the couch next to me, reached over and touched my knee. "It wasn't _physical_ pain that overwhelmed her."

Huh? No! She can't mean... "Are you trying to tell me that she can _sense _emotions, now, too?" Bella nodded.

I tugged on my hair. What _else_ could happen today? "What does this mean?"

"I just got off the phone with Eleazar from Denali," Carlisle said as an explanation. "He'll be here early tomorrow. We're still not certain if she absorbed someone's emotions the way she took in Emmett's thought the first time, or if it's something else, entirely."

I shook my head. "I still don't get it. Whose emotions did _that_ to her?" Half of the Cullens looked at me like I was missing something obvious, the other half looked away like they didn't want to see me when I finally figured it out. "_Embry?" _I all but hollered his name, even though I wasn't even pissed at him. I actually felt bad for leaving him in the woods, especially if he was in as much pain as Nessie was feeling. I was pissed at Billy, my father, _our_ father. Screw that asshole. He doesn't even deserve the title, anymore.

I got up and grabbed my bag, ripping my khakis out of it. I found my car keys in the pocket and, dropping my pants, flew to the front door.

Bella followed me out, Edward followed _her_. "I'm going with you, Jake." I just shook my head as I walked to my new car. The car I was now too furious to fully enjoy. At least I'd appreciate the zero to sixty speed when I was hauling ass to rip into Billy. "Yes, I am, Jake. If you don't take me, I'll just run over there, myself."

"You can't break the treaty, Bella." It was a shit response, Emily would have Sam's ass if he kicked her friend off the Rez.

"I'm not stupid, Jacob, I was going back and forth through La Push all summer." I stopped, showing her I'd let her catch up to me. It was purely symbolic, she could have beat me to the car if she had wanted. She turned to her husband as she opened the passenger door. "Call us if Nessie wakes up."

I was topping eighty down the driveway when she reached over and took my hand. "Thanks, Bells."

"I wasn't about to let you do this on your own. Are you sure you're okay?"

I sighed. "I don't really know. I know I should feel hurt and all that. But I'm really just pissed off."

She nodded. "How did Embry take it?" I shrugged. "Where is he?"

I shrugged, again. "I kinda ran off when he told me."

"Jacob!" She chided me. "If it's hard for _you_, imagine what _he's_ going through."

I changed the subject. I already knew how much of an ass I'd been to him. "Did Nessie really go down because of what he was feeling?"

"Not entirely. Jasper said that it was hard for her, because she'd never experienced it before and then her first time was something really intense. But, after she collapsed she was feeding off all of our anxiety, all the while Embry got closer and closer. She just didn't know how to handle it."

"Do you think this is just another part of her power?"

"No," she whispered.

"I don't, either."

"Edward says that she was thinking the same way Jasper thinks. He assumes that it's just because Jasper had been teaching her to use her power like his. I don't know, though."

"Goddammit!" I pounded the open palm of my driving hand on the steering wheel, retaining enough sense to not damage my nice, new car. "What next? I feel like every time I get into a rhythm, _some_ routine, everything changes all over again. I feel like I haven't taken a breath in nearly two years." She squeezed my hand. "I don't even want to face _him_, and yet, here I am. Racing, even." She stayed quiet, letting me get everything off my chest. "I mean, what am I even going to say to him? I always knew it was a possibility, we all just thought he was Sam's brother." I laughed, darkly. "Quil and Sam are going to be thrilled."

Bella dropped my hand and slapped my upper arm. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Jacob Black. Stop thinking about Billy and all the other guys. You _should_ be thrilled. _You_ just found out one of your best friends is really your brother."

I knew she was right, I had actually had that thought after I phased for the first time and realized that if Embry already had, his father could really only be a handful of men. I remember musing that it wouldn't be so bad if it was Billy. I was feeling very close to him at the time, especially since he had been there to help me when it happened and I was high off of the instantaneous fraternal bond all the wolves feel towards each other. I knew that I'd have to go and see him tomorrow, we needed to talk. I sighed. "You're right." She grabbed my hand, again, and squeezed.

We pulled up in front of Billy's house. The lights were on and I could hear the TV. Bella and I met up at the front door and she held my hand, again. "Love you, Jake."

I sighed and bent down to kiss the top of her head. "Love you, too, Bells." I took a deep breath and opened the door. I didn't let go of Bella's hand as we walked inside. In fact, at the sight of my father, sister, and Paul in front of the TV, I gripped it tighter. Shit. I wasn't expecting Rachel to be here. I didn't want to crush _her _heart.

Especially not when she saw my face and the hold I had on Bella and she asked, worriedly, "Is Nessie okay?" Oh, yeah. They had been there for that, huh? I didn't want to get into it, so I just nodded. She looked confused. "Then, what's up?"

I sighed. "Turn off the TV, Rach." She took the remote away from Paul and, suddenly, the room was quiet.

"What's wrong, son?" I bristled at the word. It was the first time that I had heard him call me it while knowing that it applied to someone else in the world, too. I started to shake for the second time in as many hours. Bella strengthened her grip this time. I took a deep breath before speaking only to Rachel, again.

"I need to tell you something, sis." I turned to Bella. "I'm okay, now." I knew she didn't believe me, but she let go, anyway. I walked over to my sister, ignoring my father and Paul who were flanking her sides, while Bella shut the front door on the cold outside. I knelt down and put my hands on her knees. Paul saw the slight shaking that had started up, again, as the moment of truth approached, and growled at me. "I won't hurt her, Paul." I got out between my clenched teeth. He just growled louder. I guess I couldn't blame him.

"What's wrong, Jake." She ignored Paul's whimper as she put her hands on either side of my face. That was it. I collapsed onto her lap, sobbing. "Oh, Jake."

She rubbed my back and it reminded me of what I had done for Nessie when this whole mess began. Oh god, this is what she had been feeling, wasn't it? Hurt, anger, betrayal, self-pity, and even, ridiculous as it may be, jealousy. I was jealous of the father-son relationship with _him_ that I now had to share with Embry, and Embry _had_ to be jealous that I had grown up with a father while he had grown up a bastard. The whole situation was fucked. And then, thinking about how Embry's feelings had affected Nessie, I was pissed, again. _He_, I still couldn't call him my father,hadn't just hurt me, hadn't just hurt one of my oldest friends, _he_ had hurt my imprint. And that was inexcusable. I was out for blood.

For the first time, I looked at him. I don't know what was in my face, but it scared him. Good. I seethed as I stared him down. "Have anything to tell us, _Dad?_" He just looked confused, probably by my emotional climaxes. First, I was sobbing on Rachel's lap, now I'm looking at him with murder in my eyes. I let out an exasperated growl and turned back to Rachel. Her eyes were wide with fear, too. I softened my expression. This was going to be hard enough for her. "Sorry, Rach. Look..." I grabbed her hand. "I don't really know how to tell you this." I sighed, stalling.

"Just tell her, Jake," Bella whispered from the closed door. "It'll be okay."

Time to man up, Jacob. "I know who Embry Call's father is." _He_ gasped at the same time Paul did. I didn't look at either of them. I just looked at my sister who looked uncertain as to why she should care. Then, she gasped, too.

Slowly, she turned to look at _him_. "No." It came out a whisper so soft I was surprised Billy heard it. Hiseyes were glued to his lap. "Did Mom...?" Oh, shit. I hadn't even thought about _that_. He nodded and I growled. I got up from the floor and started pacing, I was shaking, again. My mom died knowing that her husband had another son out there, that her kids had a half-brother out there? And not just out there, not just an unknown, but a boy she saw all the time, a mistress who she had to make small talk with while living her life on the small rez? On the other hand, would it really be better if she hadn't known? If she had died not knowing the kind of man she married? What kind of man _had_ she married? How did this just keep getting worse and _worse?_

_He _spoke for the first time, directing everything at Rachel. It was for the best, I was still furiously pacing a hole in the old, thin carpet. "When you and Rebecca were only three or four, your mother and I were having problems. It wasn't a very public thing. In fact, no one knew but Charlie. One weekend, the council was invited up to Neah Bay, I met Embry's mother and we dated for a few months. When your mom became pregnant with Jake, we decided to work things out. A few months later, I found out Lily was pregnant, also.

"Your mom and I were in a good place, and Lily wasn't looking to have a relationship with me. The three of us thought it would be better if she came to live in La Push, so that I could at least be in some part of his life. Of course, I didn't tell the two of them that there was a chance he might phase one day and that he should be living here if he did. So, Lily moved into town while she was pregnant and everyone assumed she had left the father back on the Makah rez. She wanted to keep my identity from him and I respected her decision. I helped support him and I tried to include him in my life, inviting him on fishing trips and other small things."

Rachel was speechless, silent tears were flowing down her face. Paul, the idiot, actually had his jaw wide open. She turned to face her dad. "I...I just...I have to go." She got up from the couch and ran out the back door. Paul was right behind her, stopping to grab the coat she had left behind.

"Paul." He whipped around when I called him. "Don't phase, okay? I'm talking to Sam tomorrow and I don't want him and the others to find out from you." He nodded and then sprinted after his imprint. I tried to ignore the pity I saw in his eyes as he left. The things imprinting had done for Paul's emotional growth.

I made eye contact with Bella for the first time since I walked over to Rachel. _He _had resorted to looking back down at his lap. I walked over to my luggage and started to close it. I noticed that everything appeared to be neat and folded. Nessie. Had it really only been a few hours ago that she had picked out my birthday outfit? Had it really only been this morning that I was enjoying chocolate chip pancakes with my family? I made sure I had everything before I walked past Bella and out the front door, only having directed one sentence at _him._

Turning on the car, I looked at the time on the dash. Quarter to ten. Great. Almost two more hours of what was turning out to be the worst birthday I had ever had. What a fitting way to ring in adulthood. I tried to focus on the nice part of the day as we drove back to the Cullens'. But, it all involved Nessie and that only led me to think about how broken she had looked on the hard earth. Bella didn't speak during the ride. I think she knew that there was nothing to say. If there was any glimmer of hope that Embry and I didn't share a father, it was long gone now. Bella just held my hand. That was enough.

I didn't bother going inside when we got there. And, as I walked around the side of the house, she didn't stop me, either. I went straight to the cottage, set down my luggage, and sat on the corner of Nessie's bed, stroking her face as she slept. Right now, more than anything, I wanted to wolf it and Nessie was the strongest thing holding me here, with her million steel cables. So, I wanted to be close to her, to remove the temptation of mindlessness that came with the baser instincts of my wolf-self. Because it was more important to be here for her tomorrow when Eleazar came, it was more important to talk to my old friend and new brother, and it was more important to help Sam, than it was to run away and lick my wounds.

After an hour of just being with her, I figured she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. I undressed and phased so that I could sleep in wolf-form on the floor at the foot of her bed. No one else was phased and I was glad. It was still relatively early, but I was exhausted and I needed to escape into unconsciousness for a while.

***

I woke before dawn and couldn't go back to sleep. Memories of my birthday were overwhelming me and I was no longer able to keep them at bay. As my grief overtook me, I heard Nessie squirm in her sleep. Ugh. I couldn't be around her when I was like this. I wouldn't be the one to cause her pain. I had to release some of this tension, but, the more time that passed while I was my wolf-self, the more anxious I became that my consciousness would soon be joined by others. Running off my energy was going to be a problem. I quietly showered and dressed in Nessie's bathroom before deciding I would go for a drive. At least until it was late enough to go talk to Embry. I bypassed the main house, again, opting to ask Bella in a text when Eleazar would show up. I wasn't going to miss that meeting for anything.

Three hours later, I was parking in front of Embry's house, feeling like an idiot. Should I knock? Was he even here or was he sleeping in the woods near his imprint's house? As soon as I opened my car door, I had my answer. I could hear his snores from here. Why do all of us snore? I walked around to his window, opting to wake him up directly, instead of dealing with his mom. I still didn't know how they had left things with each other. I guess I didn't stick around long enough to ask. Man, I was an ass.

His window was too small for me to crawl through, so I banged on the side of the house near his head, careful not to punch through the exterior wall. His snores stopped and I went back to the window so he could see me. "Put on some clothes, I'll take you to breakfast." He just nodded and I went back to the car to wait.

"Nice car." We were pulling out onto the highway before he finally said something.

"Birthday present from the Cullens." He nodded, understandingly. "Look, I'm sorry I was such an ass to you yesterday."

He held up his hand. "I get it. I at least had a couple of hours to process it. It's not like I expected you to jump for joy or anything."

"But that's just it, Embry. I really am happy that you're my brother." He gave me a skeptical look as he raised an eyebrow. "Really. I mean, I'm not really happy with my—_our—_father. But, it's not like I'm sad my best friend is now my brother." He nodded. He didn't seem to be too happy with Billy, either. "It's kinda cool, actually, I bet you Quil will be jealous."

He laughed. "You really mean that?"

I took my eyes off the road to give him what I hoped he could interpret was a sincere look. "I really do, Em."

We got to the diner in Forks and caught up a little more while we each ate through two entrées. Embry told me that Rachel and Paul had gone to see him after she had run out of the house. He laughed at Paul's sudden need to kiss his ass. It was stupid, but had never really hit me that they were his sisters now, too. Embry said he thought Paul was trying to make up for all the times he didn't know to block inappropriate thoughts when they were still in the same pack. I have to admit, Paul had always been pretty good about that when we were phased together. Rachel had called Rebecca and he had talked to her on the phone. I was almost jealous. I couldn't remember the last time I talked to my—_our_—other sister.

We talked about Brianna and Nessie for a while, and imprinting in general. We both hoped that each wolf would eventually find their imprint. He was a little hesitant in thinking that Leah would, though. Then, I got down to some Alpha business I'd been working out in my mind on the long, aimless drive, hours earlier.

"So, I've been thinking about this all morning. We need to talk about some pack stuff."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Pack stuff?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, technically you're entitled to be my second."

He stopped chewing on the bite of pancake he still had in his mouth, he spoke around it. "I didn't think about that." And then, after he swallowed, "I don't think I want to do that to Leah."

I understood. Leah took her position seriously, as proof that she didn't just fit into the men's world of the pack, but that she could rule in it, too. "Then I have an interesting proposition for you." I told him about Sam's plans to stop phasing. "So, if you didn't mind switching back to the other pack. The position is rightfully yours."

He slumped back into his seat. "Whoa."

I empathized. Being Alpha wasn't something I had ever wanted for myself and there were more pressing things on my mind when I had had to embrace it. "I know. It's a big undertaking. All new wolves will automatically be in your pack and, you know, I'm still going to follow Nessie. La Push will mostly be your responsibility. But I have no doubt that you can do it.

"You're a good guy. I know you didn't want to go through with things that night, either. And, I remember the pain you felt when you saw me struggling under the Alpha command. There was a reason Sam didn't send you to meet up with us the next day. And as for the new wolves, I know that, aside from Sam, you were the one that really got me through this whole thing in the beginning. You even ignored how much of an ass I'd been to you after _you_ joined the pack." It didn't look like Embry was in any condition to talk back. He looked dazed. "Anyway, the reason I bring all of this up..." I looked at my watch. "I'm supposed to meet with Sam today because I leave tomorrow and I have to be at the Cullens' in an hour. Will you come with me? I think we should both be there to tell him about all of this, and then see what he thinks about you taking over. If you want to, I mean."

He just nodded silently and I took care of the check. I hoped he didn't notice the number of twenties or the conspicuous ATM card and black "emergency" credit card in my wallet. We drove back to the Rez, to Emily's house, in silence. Sam was outside, chopping firewood, and he looked surprised when Embry got out of the car with me. A few minutes later, Embry had caught him up, telling him who his father is.

Sam looked a little relieved. "Are you okay, brother?" Sam was the only one that didn't go for the shortened "bro" that most of us used with each other.

Embry shrugged while he nodded. "I will be. I'm not very happy with either of my parents right now."

Sam nodded. "It took me a really long time to get over my anger at my father. At least he ran away completely. I can't imagine knowing that I'd have to face him all the time. On the other hand, Billy doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will turn his back on you now that you know the truth." Embry shrugged, again, obviously uncomfortable.

"Anyway, Sam," I tried to spare Embry, "the reason I brought Embry with me was because of your problem."

"You told him about that?"

"Yeah, Sam. He's my brother, Ephraim Black's _other_ great-grandson."

Sam seemed to understand the implication of my words. "Oh!" He turned to Embry. "Well, what do you think? The position is yours to turn down."

"Can I think about it for a while? I'm a little overwhelmed right now."

He agreed. "I won't tell the pack anything until this is all figured out."

Sam led us inside to say hi to Emily. She immediately asked about Nessie and, again, I forgot that a majority of both packs had been witness to that. "Actually," I said, checking the time, "I need to get back. What happened yesterday was not physical. Her powers are growing, or changing, or something. Carlisle has a friend, a vampire like them," I added when I saw Sam's apprehension, "who knows a lot about these things. He should be getting there right now." I gave Emily a kiss on the cheek before hugging Sam and then Embry. "See you later, little bro." Embry rolled his eyes, but he smiled.

***

When I got to the Cullens', I was surprised to see that Seth was there. He was eating a huge portion of the birthday cake I had never gotten a chance to enjoy. I wonder if yesterday was the first birthday I had ever had without singing around a cake. Weird. Oh well. Welcome to adulthood, Jake. He jutted his chin out in greeting, instead of speaking with a mouth full of angel cake and frosting.

"Hey, Seth. Where is everybody?" The living room was deserted.

He swallowed. "Upstairs, mostly. Edward and Bella took Nessie hunting. They said she woke up really thirsty this morning." Oh. I guess yesterday took a lot out of her. "That was a while ago, though. That guy from Denali should be here soon, too."

"Cake any good?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Esme said Nessie helped make it, too. There's tons more in the fridge. They made three of them, because of the pack and all."

"Did everyone leave when I left?"

"Pretty much. Your dad," I cringed. He didn't notice. "Sue, and I left later. It took a while to calm Charlie down."

"Oh, yeah. Charlie." I had forgotten. I didn't even ask Bella what had happened. I guess I had other things on my mind. "What happened?"

Seth put down his now-empty plate on the coffee table and turned towards me. Oh, god. This was going to be a long story if Seth was going to tell it. Maybe I should have waited and just asked Bella later. "It was _crazy!_ After you left with Embry, Charlie was still freaking out. He wanted to know how Jasper had made Nessie pass out without being anywhere near her."

That was all on me. I groaned. "I shouldn't have said anything. Or at least not loud enough for him to hear."

Seth shrugged. "I get it, bro, your imprint was in trouble. No one blames you. He was pretty freaked out, though. Bella just told him that it was all need-to-know stuff. He's really starting to hate that. But, Edward reminded him that it was all for Nessie's and Bella's safety. He accepted it after that. Poor guy," Seth chuckled, "Edward said that one of his guesses last night was that they're all aliens!"

I just shook my head. "Well, at least he'll never guess that they're vampires. Maybe it was a good red herring. Oh, crap!" I had to laugh at my realization. "That means he thinks that Bella was impregnated by an alien!" I started laughing.

"I wonder where he thinks they hide their spaceship!"

"And with Nessie's growth and brain and everything! Oh, man! Poor guy!" Seth and I were still cracking up when Nessie, Bella, and Edward came home.

We all held our breath when we heard tires start down the driveway. Nessie was sitting on my lap and we were playing Go Fish with Seth. I hadn't let her go since she had walked through the door and had jumped into my arms. I was relieved that she was feeling better but I was still anxious about the upcoming meeting with Eleazar. She didn't ask about my dad and I didn't ask about her breakdown. It was as though we had made a silent agreement to think of happier things around the other.

Carlisle went outside to greet his friend at his car while the rest of the family came downstairs and sat down. "Welcome, Eleazar. Thank you for coming down." Eleazar came in and assured Carlisle it was no trouble. He immediately began studying Nessie intently.

Something he thought must have peaked Edward's attention because all heads turned to him on the other side of the room when he blurted out, "Are you certain?"

Bella shot her husband a look for keeping her in the dark and Carlisle took over, again. "Please, sit down. Something tells me that this conversation will not be a short one. You remember Jacob." He gestured towards me on the couch. "And, Seth, a close family friend." He motioned again. Seth looked pleased to be considered a friend of the Cullens and not just my packmate. He waved, stupidly.

Edward put an arm around his wife and, in an effort to make up for the last silent conversation, decided to start at the beginning. "Eleazar, I'm sure that Carlisle has explained what happened to Renesmee last night. Now, prior to the incident yesterday, she had been practicing her powers more. She has learned to project her thoughts and she can also extract specific thoughts from others with physical contact. She recently became capable of projecting to anyone within a certain proximity. She can also penetrate Bella's shield with physical contact when it's surrounding only Bella _and _whenshe's shielding others. She decided to start training with Jasper to project emotions without images, a few months ago." Man, I know that he technically has something like a dozen graduate degrees, but does the guy have to make everything sound so _boring?_ He shot me a look and I rolled my eyes. "Yesterday, she successfully induced happiness in Jacob for the entire day without physical contact and without him realizing it. At the end of the day, however, she collapsed from the weight of what we believe to have been everyone else's emotions. We know this because Jasper could sense that she was experiencing the same emotional climate he was. When I made physical contact with her during the episode, it felt as though she was projecting it back without realizing it." He paused to take a unnecessary breath, choosing his next words carefully. "Which leads us to the reason we've asked you to come down here today. Is this another aspect of the two powers we know she has or is this new skill a completely different power that she has somehow developed?"

Eleazar looked over towards Nessie, but addressed her father. "Edward, do you remember what I said about Renesmee's talent the first time I met her?"

The others looked curious as Edward thought back. Only Bella, Nessie, and I had been here when they showed up. Everyone else had been out gathering supporters for our confrontation with the Volturi. "You didn't really. It was almost in passing."

"Yes," he agreed. "We were much more interested in Bella that morning."

"After Renesmee recounted her story for you, you said that we were a talented family. 'A mind reader for a father, a shield for a mother, and then whatever magic this extraordinary child has bewitched us with.' That was all you said about her."

Eleazar nodded, "To be honest, I was rather stumped by her. I assumed that her hybrid status was keeping me from getting a clear understanding of her power, because I was never an apt judge of human talents. When I sense someone's ability, I first perceive a marker announcing a skill, and then, I can sense a glitch, so to speak, in that vampire's thought processes which allows me to make assumptions as to what their mind can do. For Bella, the marker was present, but I couldn't sense anything else from her. Therefore, I knew she was a shield. However, this glimpse into the mind is not limited to minds outside of my own. I am always conscious of my own gift, which, in this instance, might have thrown me off."

"What are you trying to say, Eleazar?" I was thankful to Edward for asking because I was freaking _lost_, though I'm sure he knew exactly where all of this was going. What he meant to say was, 'get to the point,' but Edward was too polite for that.

"When I first met Renesmee, I sensed that marker, but I couldn't get a read on her mind. As I said before, I likened it to my inability to sense human talents well, and moved on to Bella. Now, having heard the developments in her skills and after the incident last night, I am certain that I perceived her power without knowing it, because it is so similar to mine."

"Really?" Nessie spoke for the first time. "How?"

Eleazar got up from his seat on the couch and crouched down in front of me and Nessie. "I believe that you have the ability, not only to sense the abilities of others, but, to absorb those powers as well."

"Then she _can_ do what I can do?" Jasper asked from his seat by Alice.

Eleazar didn't move, but turned to look at Jasper over his shoulder when he answered him. "I imagine so, yes. Of course, there's no way for me to know that for certain."

"I don't understand." Edward was obviously frustrated and his words were forced. His fingers from one hand were pinching the bridge of his nose while he ran his other up to grasp the hair on the crown of his head. "If she has more than one power, shouldn't you be able to sense _all_ of them."

"Well, that's it precisely. She doesn't have many powers, she only has one. Perhaps I misspoke earlier when I said she can _absorb _these powers. It's more like she can learn how others use their own powers and then do it herself."

Beside me, under his breath, I heard a "whoa" come from Seth. My thoughts exactly, kid.

"But how did she take my power and turn it into projecting thoughts? How did she invert Bella's shield?"

"Edward," Bella interrupted. "Didn't you once tell me that Eleazar's abilities don't work as well on humans because their latent powers are nebulous, unformed?" He nodded, obviously not following her train of thought.

Carlisle understood, though. "Of course! She doesn't mimic _vampiric_ abilities, she mimics the latent, _human_ talents. How they form is entirely up to her."

"Are you saying that she can only do what I can do because I taught her how _I _do it?" Jasper was still coming to terms with everything. He probably blamed himself for the fallout, yesterday.

I scoffed. "_Please_. Nessie would have figured it out on her own, just like she figured out how to project on her own." Nessie turned in my lap and smiled at me, blushing. I kissed her on the forehead and it turned into a grin. "Oh, c'mon, Nessie. We all know you're perfect." Her blush deepened and she buried her head in my chest. I laughed and Esme and Bella both shot me a sappy look. Women.

"She figured out how to use her powers on her own?" Eleazar looked impressed. He should be.

I took over, because, really, who talks Nessie up better than I do? No one. "Yup." I popped the "p" at the end. "After a month or two of practicing with her powers, she had already figured out that thoughts moved in and out of her like balls of energy. And then, one day, she read that energy travels through the air in waves and, a minute later, sent me a thought wave. Kid's a natural."

Eleazar nodded, thoughtfully. "Her inherent grasp on the workings of her power _does_ lend evidence to our working theory."

Suddenly, Nessie turned to look at Edward. "What's wrong, Daddy?"

We all turned to Edward, before realizing that she must be sensing an emotion coming from him. "Nothing, sweetheart. I'm just worried."

"Well, I_ know_ that!" There were scattered laughs from her family at that.

Great. Another mind-reader in the house. Nessie whipped her head around to face me. She glared at me. I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Sensed a little annoyance, did ya?" Her eyes narrowed as she folded her arms across her chest and nodded. I laughed, again. She was cute when she was huffy. Her eyes softened, but she didn't change her stance, as she sensed what I only assumed could have been pure adoration radiating from me. I kissed her nose and she rolled her eyes, fighting a smile, as she turned back to the rest of the room.

"Eleazar?" Nessie's small voice broke the hushed conversations that had started. "You said that vampires and humans with powers have a 'marker.' What does that mean?"

"Immortals with abilities carry an aura with them, at least, that's how I perceive it. There's an energy surrounding them. It's almost as though they are slightly glowing." She looked around at her family, nodding. "It is not exactly the same for humans. The unformed nature of their ability leads their energy to pulsate in random intervals. It's far more consistent if their power is a constant, like your parents' and Jasper's as opposed to Alice's sporadic visions."

"Yes." Edward answered someone's unasked question as he gripped the crook of his nose between his fingers and closed his eyes. More to break the news to himself and not to inform the rest of us, he whispered, "She can see it, now."

Emmett's mouth dropped open. "She has _another _power, now? Damn, Rose, I didn't even get one!" Blondie rolled her eyes at her husband and Nessie giggled, still scanning the room.

It was a testament to how deep in his own thoughts Edward had lost himself that he didn't scold his brother for cussing in front of his daughter. But, something did break him out of his trance. He looked at Nessie, obviously alarmed. "Are you sure?" Nessie was still sitting sideways on my lap, facing Seth and the long-abandoned game of cards between us. She caught her dad's eye and slowly nodded, a trace of amusement in her eyes.

"Eleazar," Edward's voice was tight and tense. "Do you sense anything from Jacob and Seth?"

_Huh? _I thought it, Seth voiced it. I was glad I didn't, especially if it came out as a high-pitched squeak like his had.

Ignoring Seth's outburst, Eleazar shook his head. "No." As if to prove it to himself, he looked over again at us. "Forgive me, I don't understand. Can a shape-shifter have a latent _vampiric_ power?"

There's no way we can. Maybe we wolves just have our own energy, or something, that Nessie can sense.

"That might explain it, Jacob." Edward nodded in agreement with my thoughts before turning to Eleazar. "The marker is only the first step in identifying abilities, correct?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I can't believe I'm condoning this," He muttered. "What's the second part?"

"I can show her, of course. This whole experience is fascinating." Carlisle seemed to agree, Edward didn't. Eleazar beckoned Nessie to him and she jumped off my lap. "Go stand in front of your father, young one."

Edward shook his head, vehemently. "No. Start with someone else."

"But, Daddy..."

"No, Renesmee. That's final." I wonder what that was about.

"Alright," Eleazar stretched out the word as he processed Edward's sudden belligerence. "How about we start with—"

Edward sighed, impatiently. He jumped out of his seat and began to pace behind the couch Bella still sat in. "Can't she start with Jasper? Or even Bella?"

"Edward!" Bella reached out to grab his hand, stopping him mid-stride. Tension filled the room. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he snapped at her. Whoa, never seen that before. "Just get on with it, Eleazar. But start with Bella or Jasper."

Eleazar, obviously uncomfortable, unnecessarily cleared his throat. "It would do no good to start with them. Bella's shield doesn't allow for it and Renesmee already understands how her uncle's power works."

Edward groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Edward, please." Bella got up to stand in front of him.

"No, Bella. You don't understand, nobody does. In fact," he threw his hands up in the air, "that's it. She's done for the day."

"But, Daddy, that's not fair!" Nessie stomped her foot and I would have laughed if Edward didn't look so on edge.

"This is not up for debate, Renesmee."

"Edward, please, talk to me. What is going on?" Bella was trying to pry his hands off of his face, but her newborn strength was gone and they wouldn't budge. Sobless tears ran down Nessie's face and I went to pick her up. I couldn't imagine the emotions she'd been absorbing in the past few seconds. Everyone else in the room had become unnaturally still and I ignored them as I cradled Nessie to my chest and cooed what I hoped were comforting words in her ear. I tried to stay calm and not let my anger for the way Edward was acting take root in me. The last thing Nessie needed were more negative emotions put on her.

Carlisle stood up, then, and addressed the room. "Why don't we all take a few minutes to..." He trailed off, because there really was no ending of that sentence that would work for a room full of vampires. They seemed to take the hint, though, and filed out of the room. Esme offered Seth another piece of cake and he followed her into the kitchen, asking for it to go. I waved as he sneaked out the back a few minutes later. Carlisle escorted his guest to the study.

I sat back down on the couch with Nessie on my lap, smoothing her hair with one hand and holding her to me with the other. She had stopped crying and was steadying her breaths.

"That's not it at all!" Apparently, Bella had taken down her shield for Edward and he was responding to one of her thoughts. His hands were off his face, now, and he was pacing the entire length of the room at human speed while Bella sat perched on the arm of the couch, following him with her eyes.

"Then what is it, Edward? I'm sick of guessing."

"Don't you understand, Bella? I'm not going to damn my daughter to this. At least not now. She's too young for all this."

Nessie stiffened in my arms. Uh oh. Wrong thing to say, Eddie boy. Thankfully, Bella stood up for her daughter before Nessie had the chance to yell at her father herself. "_I_ think she's old enough to handle this. And even if she's not, we can't stop this, Edward."

"The hell we can't!" Oh, man, he's pissed! "We're her parents, Bella. I'm not allowing any more of this. It's bad enough that she'll _feel_ every lust-filled thing that goes on in our house, I won't allow her to _see_ it second-hand." Shit, I hadn't even thought of that. "No, you didn't Jacob. No one but Jasper thought of the ramifications. All Carlisle can think about is how _interesting_ this all is. Esme actually thinks that she's _blessed_ with this gift! Alice—"

"Stop it, Edward! Stop it before you say anything else about our family that you'll regret. I understand your concerns, really, I do. But it's too late. She knows too much and it will only be a matter of time until she figures out her powers on her own. Especially because, with one touch from any of us, she can find out anything she wants to know. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want her to hide it from us and be kept in the dark when it happens."

"She's not going to be taught this, Bella! I won't allow it!"

"_You _won't allow it?" Uh oh. "The last time I checked, _Edward_, she's my daughter, too."

It was bad enough that Nessie had to sit through this, I can't imagine what she was sensing off the both of them. I stood with her still in my arms and walked out the back door. Nobody stopped me.

***

I decided that our self-imposed banishment was as good a time as any to fit in a proper goodbye to our island before we went back home in the morning. It was still early in the day and we jumped into the water far from the beach, making a wide loop until we got to the base of our sentimental sea stack. Thankfully, Nessie had a dry change of clothes in her imprint's bag that were on before I had phased back and climbed to the top to join her.

The visit the day before was filled with play and laughter. In a study of opposites, we sat in silence, both lost in our own thoughts, the only sound the crashing waves at our feet. We let our legs dangle over the side of the cliff that faces away from the shoreline, my twenty-something-year-old body towering over her seven-year-old one.

I kept replaying the past two days in my head. I had been so happy on my birthday and, even though I now know that my feelings weren't really my own, it doesn't change the great time I had with Nessie by my side all day. And, yeah, I know my car is pretty ridiculous, but it secretly pleases me that each of the Cullen couples cares about me so much that they actually fought over who would buy me one. They hadn't just pitched in a couple hundred or a couple thousand to buy me an appropriate "first car," either, each couple had given almost a hundred thousand dollars towards my new ride. Which is why I was glad that Nessie had screwed with my emotions enough for me to give them a grateful and enthusiastic unveiling.

In retrospect, it just makes the ending of my birthday so much worse. I've been asking myself the same question for the past twenty-four hours and I still had no solid answer: if he would have told us earlier, would it have been better? Would I have always felt betrayed if I had grown knowing that playing with Embry meant playing with my brother? I wouldn't have felt lied to, that's for sure. Would it have been fair to my mom, though, in her last years to have dealt with her husband's infidelity as common La Push gossip? At least secrets within the pack, stayed within the pack. I was confident that no one else on the Rez would ever find out.

Then, my thoughts changed abruptly and my anger was directed at my brother, and not our father. I mean, sure, Embry had to grow up without a dad, but he had never been picked on because of it. Sam had gotten it worse, because everyone in the tribe had known his father, had known what an ass he was before he left. It was Sam that everyone followed with watchful eyes, waiting for him to turn into a lazy, womanizing deadbeat. When he disappeared for weeks, after phasing for the first time, everyone had assumed that he had left for good. Ironically, Leah was his biggest defender, as every woman in town was telling her that she was better off without him. Then, he came back and, after a year or so, he had formed a gang, seemingly fulfilling the role everyone had already pegged him to have. But, as soon as the Elders were behind him, the rest of the Rez came around. Then, they were all swearing that Leah never had been good enough for him, and that they were happy that Sam had found a nice girl in Emily.

Embry had managed to stay under the radar because of Sam. And I couldn't feel too sorry that he had grown up without our father in his life. Embry never had to hear Billy tell him all the things he needed to do as "Ephraim Black's great-grandson." Embry never had to see the disappointment in Billy's eyes when he found out that his son wasn't embracing his Alpha birthright. Or the disappointment when he broke off from the pack to protect my sworn enemies. Or the disappointment when he imprinted on a vampire-hybrid. Hell, all Embry will ever see in our father's eye is pride when he finally takes over for Sam as Alpha of La Push's pack.

Besides, it wasn't like Embry had missed much. Billy had never been good at fatherhood. I can't remember a single instance when I was a kid of one-on-one, father-son bonding. In fact, now I know why Embry had always been invited on our fishing and camping trips.

Embry never had to deal with our father when his disease first put him in his chair. He didn't have to help him into the shower or off of the toilet. So, I definitely have no sympathy for my brother's childhood. Embry's never had to bury his mother. Embry still has _both_ of his parents and Embry will have time to work on his relationships with them. I, however, will never be able to tell my mother how much I love her, ever again.

Ugh. I'm being an ass and incredibly unfair and I know it, but I can't help it. I'm pissed off at _Billy_, not Embry. _He's_ behind every jealous, irrational, anger-ridden thought that I have towards my brother. I've always known that he wasn't the world's greatest father. Little things in my childhood always pointed out that he was in over his head raising three kids alone. When I dressed up in the same twin-sized sheet three years in a row because my father was clueless about Halloween costumes and my sisters had already out-grown trick-or-treating. When he looked unmistakably relieved as he signed my sex-ed waiver, thankful that he would never have to have _that_ talk with me. When he laughed his ass off at my first attempt at shaving, instead of showing me how to do it.

And when I finally did phase, he couldn't understand why I wasn't jumping for joy. The old man had felt left out as a part of the skipped generations. He couldn't understand that I viewed myself as a monster. And I know for a fact that he was jealous as hell during the newborn fight and the showdown with those Italian bloodsuckers. He couldn't understand how I could follow orders from a man who was bound to follow _me._ He couldn't understand that I just wanted to be a normal kid, that I wanted my biggest worry to be convincing Bella that she was in love with me and wanted to be with me, and not bloodlusting vampires. And now, for an eternity, I was _bound_ to this fate of protecting generations of Quileutes that I would likely never know, because I would have to hide my unaging self from them.

"Are you thinking about your dad?" It was the first time either or us had spoken since our swim out here. It was a little disorienting to hear a voice that wasn't my own in my head. How long had we been up here? Half an hour? An hour? "You've been really angry for a while."

I sighed and wrapped an arm around her, closing the space between us as I pulled her towards me. "Sorry, Nessie. I forgot you could feel all that." She shrugged. "I think I've been angry with him for a long time, it's just all finally coming out." I didn't tell her that half of that had to do with the fact that I broke off from Sam's pack to save my then-love, her mother, or that he had only recently gotten over the fact that I had imprinted on the enemy.

I sighed, loudly, rubbing my face with my right palm, as I continued to hold Nessie to my left side. "This is just the most unforgivable thing he's done to me." And that's the truth. Disliking Nessie was a close second but, to his credit, he had never actually come right out with the hostility I could sense he felt towards her. If he had, I'm certain that I would have stopped speaking to him right then and there. I think he knew that, too, and that's why he had never done it. In fact, my relationship with Nessie was pretty much the only topic that my father was not brutally honest with me about.

Nessie was looking up at me as she sat pressed against my side. Her neck was at an uncomfortable angle as she stared at the underside of my chin, obviously waiting for me to share more. To be honest, I didn't know how much I should tell her. I mean, I had never really been anything to her but a playmate and I had definitely never confided in her. That was still within Bella's best friend domain.

She seemed to sense that I wouldn't be opening up and her gaze went back to the endless ocean before us. It was a few minutes later when she finally spoke. "After his wedding, Sam isn't going to be a wolf anymore." She didn't ask, she knew. I didn't ask _how_ she knew, Edward must have told Bella. He doesn't really get why she likes hearing about the wolves, but he knows she does. I think for him to really understand it, he would have to admit how close she was to becoming a part of _my_ family and not his.

"And Embry's going to take over as Alpha." Again, it wasn't a question.

I smiled. It had taken me hours to come up with that idea and she said it like it was the only natural solution. "Probably. He hasn't really decided, yet. I think he will, though." And I did.

She went on. "I heard Kim say at your party that she wanted to become a teacher in La Push like Rachel." My sister had decided last summer to use her college degree to teach elementary school on the Rez. I thought it was a good idea that she planned to stick around for a while, Paul's temper would probably keep him a wolf for a few years. True, he didn't get upset as easily as he used to, but I heard that one of the new wolves had pissed him off a few months ago and he couldn't control himself. I heard that he kicked the kid's ass harder for making him ruin his phasing record.

Then she said something completely out of the blue. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I think I would have choked on my laughter if she wasn't so serious and if I wasn't so stunned. Where the hell had that come from? "Well, Nessie, seeing as I'm eighteen in a twenty-something-body, I would say that I pretty much _am_ grown up."

She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, like she was going to sigh, but didn't. "I was watching TV with Aunt Rose the other day and they were asking these normal kids," she winced and it broke my heart, "what they wanted to be when they grew up. The point of it was so that they would say something illogical so that everyone in the audience could laugh at them." She shrugged as she continued in the same breath. "I don't know. So, I asked Claire the same question and she said that she wanted to be a gymnast. Which is pretty illogical, too, if you think about it, because she should probably already be training if she wants to be an _Olympic_ gymnast. Which, I suppose, is what she would want to be, since there's really no other kind of _professional_ gymnast, and that's really the point of the question in the first place. At least she didn't say that she wanted to be a princess, like some of the girls," she winced, again, and it broke my heart, again, "were saying on the show, because that wouldn't just be illogical, it would be completely imposs—" Her rambling was endearing, especially since it was probably the first time she had ever done it, and I tried to hide the smile that was undoubtedly filling my face. She was obviously going on and on because she was uncomfortable, though, and, so, I tried to save her.

"A mechanic." I said it rushed to cut her off and because, well, I was a little embarrassed. The girl next to me, whose heart rate had gone up because she had managed to say all of her little speech in one breath, could be anything she wanted when she was older. Brain surgeon? No problem with a little work on her bloodlust. Nuclear-physicist? Easy. Astronaut? She'd be the only one not getting sick. Me, though? I was just a kid from La Push with no talent other than being able to morph into a big, hairy, over-grown dog.

Now it was my turn to ramble. "A car mechanic, I mean. _Or_ a bike mechanic, I guess. I know there are tests you have to pass, and everything, if you want to work in a shop. But Carlisle got me some books, at least I think it was Carlisle, and I've been reading them. It's actually pretty interesting, learning the theory behind engines, because I was just used to putting them together or replacing what was wrong. Anyway, I would want to be a mechanic. Yeah..."

I chanced a glance down at her and saw her looking up at me a goofy grin. I knew she wasn't laughing at me and I relaxed. Somehow, my babble was just as endearing to her as hers was to me. Then, her expression turned serious and she looked away at the horizon while she bit her lip. "How old do you think I am?"

Huh? I wasn't sure what she was asking. "Well, Carlisle says you're around seven, right?"

The look on her face said that that wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I know how old I _look_. I meant, how old do you think I _am_." Was she speaking in riddles? I doubt that bringing up her _actual_ age would be a good thing, so I sat in dumb silence. "I'm doing high school work, does that mean that I have the mind of a teenager? I don't think so, though. I've read about some normal," there was that word, again, "kids a little bit older than me who are doing high school and even college work. They still act their own age, though. So, I've tried watching TV channels that are especially for kids my age, but I don't really like them. The plots to their stories are not complex at all and all the characters are completely static, regardless of the fact that they seemingly have epiphanies at the end of each episode. I just don't know how to realistically measure my age." She sighed in frustration.

I rubbed her back and bent down to kiss the top of her head. "You're so special, honey. What Eleazar said today only proves it more. You shouldn't try to look at yourself in such..." I tried to come up with a word that was as accurate and as unlike "normal" as possible. "..._boring_ ways. Look at the rest of your family, you know that age isn't important. It doesn't mean _anything_, honey."

She crawled onto my lap, burying her wet face in my neck as I held her. "It _does_ matter," She finally choked out. "It _does_. My _age_ is what's keeping me inside the house all day. You're the only one that even thinks of breaking me out and we both know how much trouble you'd be in if my dad ever found out." I did. I continued to take Nessie to the library in Boston every chance I got, creating more and more elaborate lies to explain her absence from the rest of the family. Thankfully, a few times we had managed to sneak out without anyone thinking we had ever left our study. "My _age _is what's keeping me from being included in every family meeting or decision. My _age_ is what's keeping my dad from letting me learn about my powers. I hate Edward so much, right now!"

"Nessie!" I can't believe I was actually defending him. "You shouldn't say that."

"What? I shouldn't call him Edward or I shouldn't say that I hate him?"

I pulled her away from me enough to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "C'mon, Nessie. You know how much both would hurt him. He loves you. I know he's overprotective, but he's your dad and he loves you."

"So? You and my mom both call your dads by their first names. And you forget that I could feel the contempt for your own father coming off of you only a few minutes ago."

"That's different. Bella didn't really know Charlie until she was grown and my dad has never been...ugh." I pressed Nessie to me, again, resting my chin on top of her head so I wouldn't have to face her. "I really don't want to talk about him."

She pulled away a little and looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry Billy hurt you, Jacob."

You and me, both, kid. I sighed and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry Edward hurt _you_, Nessie."

She just nodded and then nestled into me, again. I sat there trying to reconcile this substantially more mature version of Nessie in my head, wishing I could tell her more, wishing I could tell her _everything_. I just couldn't. As hypocritical as it may sound, she was still too young.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ So, there were two holes in Mrs. Meyer's writing that allowed me to initiate these acrobatic leaps of creative license. The first, most obviously, is the three-way Embry Call paternity-triangle set up in Eclipse. I just picked the angle that would cause the most drama to the main characters. If I was writing a story about Sam or Quil, I would have picked the other two options.

The second aspect of my not-such-a-break from Mrs. Meyer's canon is the development of Renesmee's powers. I have debated this with the voice in my head and the external voice in my head, my husband, for hours upon hours. There are two critical passages that make my interpretation plausable. The first is quoted in this section, Eleazar's response to meeting Renesmee in Breaking Dawn. I found it to be insanely interesting that "whatever magic this extraordinary child has bewitched us with" is the only way a vampire whose power is an initmate knowledge of others' abilities could describe her. The "whatever magic" was specifically of interest to me. It was almost as though Eleazar was stumped himself. So I came up with a resonable explanation to explain his gap in understanding: What if their powers were so similar that Eleazar couldn't distinguish when he was sensing his own and when he was sensing Nessie's?

Then, I became obsessed with the way Edward described a human's latent power: _nebulous_. I trusted in Mrs. Meyer's stringent word choice and looked up the etymology of the word. It comes from the Latin word for clouds and was later used figuratively to mean formless or vague. This little tidbit, combined with my assumption of the gap within Eleazar's assessment of Nessie allowed me to propose a different hypothesis than Edward and Carlisle's in regards to Nessie's shield-breaking and thought-sharing powers:

Maybe Nessie isn't just mirroring her parents' abilities, maybe her power allowed to inherently take the nebulous human talents of her parents and used them towards her own end, namely communication.

Yes? No? Maybe so? Oh well. Endless drama awaits this very powerful Renesmee and that's the most important thing, right?

P.S. Good call to those of you whose guesses came pretty close to spot-on.

P.P.S. I'll try not to leave characters writhing in emotional pain from now on.


	8. Book One: Part Eight

_Author's Note: _I got it out! Two days ago, I sadly would have bet against an update this week. It was impossible last week, as I was answering phones all day. If you work in Burbank, CA and had a substitute receptionist at your office last week, then it's a small world.

So, I've gotten a couple of interesting comments and concerns lately. Let me try to clarify:

Some of you seem to be worrying about Jake's self-esteem now that Renesmee is even more powerful. Let me set your fears aside. To Jacob, the fact that Renesmee has _any_ power, even if that ability was something as lame as having a glowing finger or something, means that she is out of his league. Her ever-increasing arsenal of powers does not change how special he thinks she is, either negatively or positively. Aside from that, he's too busy freaking out about what all these powers will mean to her that he's not really thinking of anything beyond that.

Someone brought up that the relationship between Bella and Jacob might be a little too much for just friendship. I disagree. The fact that Jacob is now able to love her "the right way" would only strengthen their relationship to an even deeper level than they've ever had before. If Alice was somehow going through a similar situation as Jacob, I would hope that Bella would hold her hand and tell her that she loved her before walking into the unknown.

I also think it's somewhat hilarious that some people love the angst and others hate it. I honestly don't think I'm being_ that_ angsty, but maybe I'm not a good judge of it. Like Jacob said, his life in the past few years has taken him for such a loop that every new experience just makes him realize that he hasn't been able to just _be_ in a long time. So, to him, small upsets seem to be compounded into an ever-growing situation that started that fateful day in February when he phased for the first time.

As always, I'm glad you are enjoying my story, and there's much more to come. Hopefully, with a somewhat busier house bustling around me now that summer is here, I will be able to keep up with my writing. Don't worry, though. I love this story too much to stop now.

_Stephenie Meyer:_ I know that drama and conflict is a writer's bread and butter, but c'mon, did you really have to give imprinting such a bad rep? Regardless, I love every single character, plot twist, and sorted web of relationships you created and fully own. I hope that I am doing them justice and not stepping on your toes.

* * *

***_  
__**Time it was and what a time it was,  
It was a time of innocence, a time of confidences.  
**_

--Simon & Garfunkel_  
Bookends  
_***

I thought about Nessie differently after that conversation on our island. The maturity of her thoughts had taken me off-guard. I knew that she was extremely intelligent but I didn't think that the knowledge she was gaining was _aging_ her. The fact that she didn't act like a seven-year-old in most ways had never bothered me, she had _never _acted her "age." But when she had asked me about her _real_ age, it had freaked me out. Did we not only have to worry about her _growing_ too fast, but _maturing_ too fast, too? Did I really _treat _her like she was seven? Did anyone? Over then next few days, I watched the family's interactions with her and tried to remember the things they always did with her.

Emmett and Rosalie were the worst at treating her like she was more than a little girl. Rosalie still sat her on the couch and brushed her hair as though she were a doll. As for Emmett, well I had never really realized how much he _carried _her. Though, if I was being honest with myself, I was guilty of holding her a lot, too. I just wanted her in my arms and it seemed like she liked being there. Together, her aunt and uncle treated her _younger_ than seven. Is that why Emmett cussed in front of her so much, did he really think everything was over her head? It made me wonder why he had shown her all of those horror movies last summer.

Edward, Bella, and Esme were good at treating her like a "young lady," even referring to her as one, often. They didn't coddle her, they scolded her and made her do the work they knew she tried to weasel her way out of. Still, they were guilty of expecting too little out of her, sometimes forgetting that she was _not_ a normal child. Maybe that human parenting instinct in the three of them didn't allow for supernatural children. Edward, I think, was always more hung up on the part of her that was human, instead of focusing on the much bigger part of her that wasn't.

Carlisle and Jasper's interactions with her were limited and I didn't see a lot of it, mostly because their time with her was during the day when I was at school. It was easy to see the love they had for her when she was with them, but they both played the roles of tutor and mentor a little bit better than uncle and grandpa. Still, they didn't mince words around her and treated her _intellectually_ much older than she looked.

I tried to look at my own actions towards her, but I was actively controlling my behavior, now. I knew that I couldn't really be objective, but I also knew that I was doing a little better to treat her the way she wanted to be treated because of my newfound awareness. I no longer picked her up or carried her, I only opened my arms when she jumped into them. I still ruffled her hair and tickled her, but I stopped kissing her nose. I didn't pull her towards me before we slept, anymore, allowing _her_ to snuggle into _me_. I stopped physically moving her around altogether. If I wanted her to sit on my lap instead of sitting next to me, I would ask her to, and not just place her there. I screwed up now and then, but I was trying and I think she realized it. I just wonder if she knew it was because of our little talk.

If I was being honest with myself, the only person who genuinely treated her the way she _acted_ and not the way she _looked_, was Alice. This was the relationship I studied the most as I tried to find an honest answer to the question of Nessie's that had me stumped: _how old do you think I _am?

Alice was the only one who had never really had any contact with a child before. While the family had lost most of their human memories, they hadn't lost their human _knowledge. _So,they had retained any factual information they had about kids and growing up: babies cry, toddlers have lisps, and kids like candy and sweets. All of these assumptions were negated by Nessie, but they were all in the back of our minds when we _saw_ her. Alice, on the other hand, had a clean slate when it came to kids. She knew absolutely nothing about them besides what she saw in movies or on TV.

While she was aware that Nessie wasn't normal, she wasn't 100% certain what normal _was._ So, she took all of her cues from Nessie, herself. She treated her like a younger sister, like a younger Bella. I heard them through our joint wall as Alice painted her toenails while gossiping about the only people they _could_ gossip about, the family. Jasper lost a bet, with Esme, of all people, and has to varnish the deck after the snow thaws. She would have warned him, but she wanted the deck to be a shade darker, anyway. Rosalie's mad at Emmett because he broke a bottle of her French perfume all over her antique vanity table because he was throwing a ball around their room. She had to talk Emily out of begonias in her hair, because they meant "deep thoughts" and there shouldn't be any of that at a festive wedding, besides forget-me-not's are prettier and take care of the "something blue." Nessie took it all in, laughing at Emmett's story, tsking at Jasper _and_ Alice, and grabbing her laptop to find out what begonias and forget-me-not's looked like.

They sat cross-legged next to each other on the couch in the living room with their laptops perched on their knees, online shopping. Alice trusted her judgment about clothes more than she even trusted Rosalie's, because, as she often said, "I taught Nessie everything I know." They collapsed onto each other in a fit of giggles when they randomly mixed up all of Emmett's video game discs in their cases and it took him ten minutes to find the game he wanted to play and put them back in order. Their giggles continued along with light-hearted shrieks as he chased them around the house, and they both stuck their tongues out at him as they hid behind me and Jasper for protection. We played along, crossing our arms over our chests and staring him down. They bounced together on the trampoline Nessie had gotten for her birthday, performing Cirque du Soleil feats in perfect synchrony. And, in the mornings when they dressed and took pictures for her photo albums, they sang and danced around in Nessie's closet.

The Thursday after we got back from Forks, I was doodling in my government class, replaying every recent interaction between Alice and Nessie in my head, when I dropped my pen and nearly fell out of my too-small desk-and-chair. Shit! I knew _exactly_ how old Nessie was, having had two sisters who had once acted the same way she and Alice act together. She may have looked seven, but she acted like an young middle school girl. That was only one step away from... Shit!

My horrible realization occupied my thoughts all the way through the rest of my day at school and as I drove my new Spyker back to the second house in Hanover. I had driven my Rabbit until my new car arrived back at home. Jasper and Emmett had both wanted a shot with the car, and I couldn't really deny them, since they'd been nice enough to buy it for me, so I'd agreed. It had only taken them a day and a half to drive across a dozen northern states. Alice and Rosalie took the opportunity of a night without their husbands to stay in Boston and shop.

The looks I got the first time I pulled it into the school's parking lot were only rivaled by the looks I got on my first day of school. Considering that I doubted anyone had ever heard of a Spyker at this school, I was surprised at their reaction. Everyone seemed to sense somehow that it was pure money on wheels. When they saw the all-windowed roof, the cockpit-like interior, and the suicide door as I grabbed my backpack from the back seat, they _knew_.

With my first game the next Tuesday, our after school basketball practices were going later into the night. These longer practice sessions coincided with my completion of the first semester of Junior-year English and a newly opened free period of time at the end of the day. So, to tie me over until dinner, Nessie and Bella would come back after lunch and make me a snack before I had to go back for practice.

I pulled out my math book as they cooked up macaroni and cheese in the kitchen, oblivious to my clammy hands and fragile mental state. Nessie had to help me with the same problem five times before I finally got the right answer. All the while, I stared at her, waiting for her to grow three heads, or, more accurately, two boobs, right before my eyes. I was so distracted on my way back to school, that only my supernatural reflexes stopped me from hitting a tree that popped out of nowhere.

It was the first time in all of my practices that I didn't have to think about purposely missing baskets. Half the time I didn't even know which direction the basket was even _in_. Every time the ball made its way into my hands, I passed it immediately to someone else. I must have looked ridiculous as I passed the ball while I, myself, was standing underneath the net because my coach called a water break and took me aside. I managed to convince him that I was just nervous about the game on Tueday. But, I must have had a crazed look in my eye, because he didn't really believe me and sent me home early. I was halfway to my car when I realized I was still wearing my work-out clothes and had left my bag back in the locker room.

I knew that I needed to talk to someone, I just didn't know who I should confide in. Ordinarily, I would have gone straight to Bella, especially because it was about Nessie. But I really didn't want to freak her out about this. I knew that talking to Edward was bad for two reasons. First, Nessie was still mad at him for sending Eleazar away before we got home from our island in the late afternoon on Saturday, and I didn't want to betray her by talking to him about what we discussed. Whoever I talked to would have to know why I had started thinking about this in the first place. Second, there was no way I was going to talk to Edward about Nessie's rapid approach into puberty.

I could usually count on Emmett to talk to, but after realizing that he still viewed Nessie as a little kid, I don't think it would be very easy to convince him that she was aging too fast. That left Alice, Jasper, and Carlisle. I performed a too-fast U-turn and headed back towards Hanover. I still had a little over two hours before I was expected back at home, I just didn't know where to go first. The hospital was closest, so I headed in that direction before second-guessing myself. Carlisle would be nice to talk to about this, especially because this was _kind of_ a medical question, but I don't know if he was very good at hiding his thoughts from Edward like I knew that Alice and Jasper could.

I sighed as I pulled off the side of the side of the road and rested my head on the steering wheel. I knew that I couldn't talk to anyone about this. There was a reason Nessie had had that conversation with me, and not anyone else in her family. Even if I couldn't really consider her my best friend, yet, she considered me hers. There was only one person that could help me now. I pulled out my phone from my bag on the passenger seat and found "Bells" in my contact list.

The second ring was cut off by a very anxious sounding Bella. "Jacob? Is everything alright?"

I wanted to tell her to calm down, but I was kinda looking for her to tell me the same. "Yeah, Bells. I just got out of practice early." No need to tell her that I was practically kicked out because I'm slowly losing my mind. "I'm on my way home, I just need you to do me a favor."

There was a pause as she took in what I had said. Then, cautiously, she slowly said, "Alright. What is it?"

"I just need you to shield me when I get home."

"Why?" She was still suspicious.

Good question, Bells. Why would I want to be blocked from Edward? "Um...I kinda...um..." Think, idiot! Hmm, I wonder if flattery works on Bella. "I kinda had to tell off some guys when they were talking about my 'hot Homecoming date.' I don't think your husband wants to hear some of the things they were saying about you." Good, thinking, Jake. No one wants to see Jealous Edward, I should know. Especially since he's been so goddamn moody since Nessie hasn't spoken to him in three days.

"Oh." She was surprised. God, couldn't they afford to buy her a mirror, or something? "Well, thanks, I guess. You didn't do anything stupid, right?"

"Nope. Just practiced some of my underused vocabulary." Insert Bella's patented eye roll. "So, you'll do it?"

"Sure, Jake."

I let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Bells."

"That bad?"

I decided to answer her question, honestly. Pretending for a minute that I had actually confided in my best friend and she was comprehending the gravity of the pit I had been falling down since Saturday, since Friday, really. God, this had been the longest week of my life, hadn't it? "Yeah, Bells. That bad."

Nessie was so happy to see me home early that I was able to forget about all the ways my entire way of thinking had been completely fucked up during the past five days and just hug her to me. She had been on the piano, her normal activity around this time because she still waited for me to get home so that we could study together. In the time it took me to do homework for one subject, she was able to do a month's worth of schoolwork in three. If she didn't understand something, she'd flag it and ask someone the next day.

All of my excess school supplies were going to good use by Nessie. She had become a post-it fiend. Flags, pads in different colors, and in different shapes were all used for specific purposes. She had dispensers galore on her desktop, but her favorite two accessories were the pen/flag combo and the highlighter/flag combo. I didn't really understand her obsession with the sticky paper, but I never questioned her about why someone with a perfect memory would _need_ a highlighter _or_ reminder notes. Mostly, I didn't care because I, smugly, was the only one who got notes from her written on the heart-shaped papers. I would find them on the front of my school books when I pulled them out in class or stuck to the front of my phone. They usually say things like:

_Jacob—_

_Please text me and let me know what you would like for lunch._

—_Renesmee_

or,

_Jacob—_

_Good luck on your test! Don't forget that tangent is opposite/adjacent and NOT adjacent/opposite. _

—_Renesmee_

and

_Jacob—_

_Why would someone write curse words in this textbook?_

—_Renesmee_

I loved that she always signed her full name to them and I loved the surprise of finding them. It always made my day and I've saved every one of them. I would stick them back together to make the notepad form they came in, and I kept them all in my locker.

I listened to her play a few songs while I ate dinner and then we made our way up to our study. I sat down at my desk, opening my bag on the desk, and stared out the window. My mind was still a million miles away.

During dinner I had begun making a mental list of all the ways in which my life had been turned on its head during the past few weeks: My father cheated on my mother, had a bastard son who, incidentally, has been my best friend since childhood. The man who has taken over my ill-suited responsibility and birthright as La Push's Alpha is "retiring" and the least I can do is help him find his replacement, who is ultimately my second substitute. My new half-brother, who is the only fool-proof way of ensuring a seamless transition of power, is still deciding if he wants the responsibility as he is still in high school, just found out he's been around his father his whole life without knowing it, and imprinted on a barely-pubescent girl who lives 60 miles away. The retiring Alpha is having a wedding in only a few weeks which, _co_incidentally, is the unofficial deadline for the new-Alpha problem and I have to attend while trying to ignore my father's presence because I'm not speaking to him. My imprint is currently going through an existential crisis which, if I am right in assuming is due to the fact that she is maturing faster than she is aging, will make her a pubescent girl whose body hasn't gone through puberty in less than a year. All the while, she's also dealing with the discovery that her abilities might make her the most powerful vampire in existence, even though she's not even a full vampire. She is not speaking to her father because he refuses to get behind her in her desire to fulfill her power's potential, mostly because her powers _have_ resulted in an emotional breakdown and _will _result in a loss of even more of her quickly-fading innocence.

She came up behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder and effectively ending my brooding session. "What's wrong, Jacob?" Ugh. I will _never_ get used to this empath thing. "You're annoyed. I'm sorry, I just..."

"Hey, Nessie," I turned around and grabbed onto her arm to stop her from walking away. "Don't go. I'm sorry I'm being an ass." I let her go when she turned back to me and scratched my scalp with both hands, grabbing the ends of my hair a little. "I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed today."

"A _little?_" She whispered it, sarcastically.

***

I called up Embry on the drive home from practice the Monday before we went back to La Push for the wedding, but the number at his house was disconnected. I called Seth's instead and had to glance at the screen on my phone to check the number I had dialed when Embry, instead, answered the phone at the Clearwaters'. "Hey, bro. What are you doing over there?"

"I live here, now."

_Huh? _ "Really?"

"Yeah. I moved in with Seth and Leah when Sue moved in with Charlie."

"Oh." I paused. "_Really?" _I mean, no one else really gets along with Leah the way I do, but I can't imagine having to _live_ with her.

He laughed. "Yeah." His tone became somber. "My mom and I were fighting too much, so she decided to go back up and live in Neah Bay for a while." That explains the disconnected phone line. "Quil's living here, too."

"_What?_" Okay, _now_ I'm a little jealous. "The whole pack's under one roof? Wow! That's...well, it's actually kinda badass!"

He chuckled. "We know." I laughed. "Quil was a little jealous when he found out I was moving in with, well, Seth, really." Glad I'm not the only one. "So, he and I are bunking together in Sue's old room and Leah and Seth both kept theirs."

"Aww, that's cute, Em. You guys get bunk beds or are you spooning all night in a queen?"

"You're funny, bro." I laughed, because I was. "We're just lucky that Sue and Harry's bedroom was pretty big. Leah's been bitching about living with a bunch of high school guys, but she's just pissed that she didn't get the master bedroom. She's making Seth share our bathroom, though, so she can finally have her own. She's actually been a lot cooler since we moved in. I finally see how you can actually get along with her. I don't know. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that she's in Forks for most of the day, going to school and working."

"She got a job?"

"Yeah. Part-time at the bookstore on campus. Quil and I are working now, too. Old Quil got him a couple of hours a week at Lonesome Creek." Lonesome Creek is the only market in the Rez. "And I'm taking over for my mom at the store on the beach."

We talked a bit more, mostly about Brianna, before I asked him what I had been waiting to ask since I had decided to call him. "So...have you talked to Sam, lately?"

"Yeah, everyone's right here." Smooth, Em. We had promised not to talk to anyone else about this whole thing until Embry had made a decision.

I whispered, in case they were close enough to hear my end of the conversation. "Still haven't decided, yet?"

"Actually..." He sighed. "I think I'm going to do it."

It wasn't a surprise to me, I had known all along that he would. We didn't say anything after that. I broke the silence. "Hey, do me a favor and pass the phone around."

I talked to Quil, first. We did the familiar "How's the imprint?" It was the wolf equivalent of "How are the wife and kids?" He told me about her opening her Christmas presents and the Christmas pageant her preschool had put on. It made me realize that I hadn't really caught up with Quil very much during the week or so I'd been in La Push. I filled him in on Nessie's newly realized ability and he was impressed. I also explained that she had been overwhelmed after absorbing Jasper's power at my birthday party without going into the details of Embry's paternity. I was going to have to ask him when he wanted to start telling people about that.

I was pulling up into the driveway by the time Seth got on the line. Nessie met me by the driver's side door, like she usually does when her parents are in class. She jumped up to kiss me on the cheek and, when she heard that I was talking to Seth, took the phone away and chatted with him about what had happened since they saw each other last. He was as into the Cullen family gossip as much as Nessie and Bella were into the pack gossip.

Esme and I listened to the conversation while we all sat around the dining room table and I ate. Esme got on the phone next and promised him a home-cooked meal while we were in town. After the eavesdropping Quil and Embry complained about special treatment, the entire pack was invited over for breakfast the morning after the wedding, because Seth would be busy with wedding stuff the rest of the weekend.

I listened to Nessie practice her piano while I finally got my own chance to talk to Seth. He seemed happy about the new living situation and I couldn't blame him. It did seem pretty perfect. He told me what a pain in the ass it had been moving his mom out. Though, after getting Embry and Quil to help, it hadn't taken very long at all. The worse part for Seth had been the constant breaks Charlie and his mom took to make eyes at each other and make-out while they unpacked.

He admitted that Leah had become easier to live with and was enjoying her freedom. The first weekend, she had even invited a few of her school friends over. Seth thought that they were cool, but was a little weirded out. It had been a while since he had had to really interact with people outside the supernatural world. I told him that I knew exactly what he meant. I was happy for Leah. It was about time that she had people in her life that couldn't see into her head and didn't know everything there was to know about her love life.

Then Seth asked me something that caught me off guard. "So, where are _you_ staying when you come down this weekend?"

***

The day after I talked to the guys about their move, I woke up excited and couldn't go back to sleep. Nessie's head, surprisingly, was still nestled into my neck, her four-foot body was resting at my side and the tips of her toes now touched my mid-thigh. She didn't sleep very much, never had, really. Her four or five hours were up long before I was awake and I never got to see her sleep anymore unless I stayed up to watch her fall into it. It wasn't the same as waking up next to her and seeing her sleep, though.

Seth had forgotten about the time difference and had kept me on the phone until Bella and Edward came back from their night class a quarter after ten. Nessie was avoiding Edward less and less now, but the relationship would be strained until he gave in and allowed someone else other than Jasper to work with her. They were both too stubborn for their own good and it seemed like the entire family had decided to stay out of it. I felt bad for Bella, though. I knew that she didn't agree with Edward and felt that Nessie's cold-shoulder wasn't completely unfounded, but she hated seeing Edward pained because his daughter was shutting him out. It was funny because I had the exact opposite perspective on it than she did. I agreed with Edward's stance on allowing her to develop her powers because I was afraid about what she might become exposed to and what the physical and emotional ramifications of so many powers would be. Still, I felt worse for Nessie than I did for Edward. In her eyes, his refusal to listen to her side of the argument was only fueling her belief that she was being ignored because of her age. Having seen first hand how shitty that made her feel, I couldn't really sympathize with Edward.

Still having work to do, Nessie and I had gone up to our study and didn't get to bed until the early morning. So, I was surprised when, less than four hours later, I was revitalized and anxious to start my day. I wormed my way out from beside Nessie and took a shower, making a mental list in my head of everything I had to discuss with Alice.

Nessie was still asleep in my dark bedroom when I walked out of my closet, fully dressed, and I was glad. I wanted my conversation with Alice to be as private as it could be with Edward in the house. So, I made my way down our hallway to the stairs so I could sneak over to the room she shared with Jasper, hoping that she saw her future disappearing and I wouldn't be interrupting anything. I was surprised to smell breakfast cooking, but I ignored my stomach.

I should have known that Alice would do more than be ready for me to come by, that she would actually prepare for it, instead. Not only did she open the door as soon as I got to the second-story landing, when I looked, not past, but over, her head, I saw a breakfast tray waiting for me on a desk next to two computer monitors.

I smiled and playfully bumped into her as I walked past her when she motioned me into the room. "Thanks, Alice."

"No problem, Jake." I sat at the desk while she sat facing me on the corner of their bed. "What's up?"

"Well," I said thickly, through a mouthful of eggs before swallowing. "I need to know how much money I have."

She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as she walked towards me and sat on the identical chair next to mine, turning on the monitor. I kept eating as she opened a internet window and loaded a website. She clicked a couple of things, typed a couple of things, and then went back to the first page that was reloading a congested line graph. "Six."

I swallowed my bite of sausage too fast and I sat for half a minute coughing, while Alice looked at me with a shit-eating grin on her face. It was long enough for me to do a few calculations, though. "Six _thousand_ dollars? That's, like, double of what I've given you!"

I'm not sure when her face fell, but when I turned to look at her with my own grin plastered to my face, she was already standing beside me with her hands on her hips. We were now eye-to-eye, which I would have laughed at any other time and made a joke about our two foot difference in height, except she looked like she was about to scratch my eyes out. What did I do?

"What kind of _slip_-shod work do you think I _do,_ Jacob Black?" She spit out my name and I have to admit, I was kind of scared.

"Um..._huh?_" I didn't get it. Couldn't she tell I was excited as hell a minute ago?

"Six_ thousand_," she scoffed. "How dare you! Any idiot could get lucky enough in five months to make you six thousand dollars!" She started muttering too fast for me to even understand her then, as she paced the room, but I caught words like _under-appreciated _and _underestimated. _

I heard Edward then, dragging Bella down the hall as she repeatedly asked him what the big deal was. They came into the room the same time that Jasper did. Edward and Jasper were laughing so loudly that a second later, a booming voice from the floor above us called out, "What's so funny, you guys?" Great. So much for this being a private conversation.

"What's going on, Jake?"

"That's a good question, Bells. When one of you wants to catch the rest of us up, that would be great. Until then, I'll be eating my breakfast." I turned back towards the table and stuffed another forkful of omelet into my mouth, shaking my head in confusion as I chewed.

Bella walked over to her sister, who had calmed down considerably, probably because of her husband. "What going on, Alice?"

She didn't answer Bella. Instead, she looked at me. Frustrated she tossed her arms up in the air before throwing them back down at her sides. As her hands carelessly slapped against her thighs, she groaned, "Six-_hundred_ thousand, Jake!"

I couldn't help it. If I had water or juice or some other liquid in my mouth, it would have come out in one of those perfect bursts, like on TV. Instead, I had a half-chewed bite of eggs in my mouth and it flew across the room, hitting the wall before crawling against it and onto the floor.

Bella broke the silence. There were just giggles at first, until they turned into stomach-busting, side-splitting, knee-hitting howls of laughter. Everyone else switched their stare back and forth, between the offending food on the floor and Alice's stunned face, unsure of what their reaction should be until they saw _her_ reaction. She did _not _disappoint. A few seconds later, she was hanging onto Bella as they fell over each other in laughter.

It would have been amusing, but I was having my own little freak-out in the corner of the room. _Six-hundred thousand dollars? _ That's probably _three_ of my father's house. That's _two_ Spykers. That's _thirty_ brand-new VW Rabbits. Why didn't she _tell_ me before this got so out of control?

Wait. That even sounded stupid in my head. Hundreds of thousands of dollars was a _bad_ thing? Wasn't the point for Alice to invest the money so I _would_ have enough money to support myself? To support Nessie one day? This is.... This is..._perfect!_

As if I was the last person in the room to finally get the joke, my laughter started just as everyone else's was dying down. Still wrapped up in euphoria, I walked over to Alice, picking her up and spinning her around the room. I put her down on the floor and looked her in the eye and said, as sincerely as possible, "Thank you, Alice."

Her original grin was back again and I was grateful. She shrugged. "You're family, Jake. This is what I do."

"What?" I scoffed. "Make money?" She didn't answer me, she just kept looking up at me with the same grin on her face. I felt everyone else leave the room, again, the excitement over. I heard Emmett bust up a few seconds later, though. Someone must have let him in what had happened. "You're serious, huh?"

She hit my chest, playfully. "Of course, Jake. You knew that, though. I mean, that's why you gave me your money to invest. What do you think I do all day?"

"Um...shop?" I didn't want a repeat of her flip-out earlier, so I added. "I mean, I just thought you saw a good investment every once-in-a-while and would put everyone's money in it for a while."

"I do. At least, I do that, too. But, recently, I've also been getting into day-trading." She hurried on when she realized I had no idea what she was talking about. "I go online and buy and sell stocks throughout the day by looking into the short-term future. I have a bunch of different accounts in different names, so no one will ever get suspicious about it. Anyway, that's my job in the family. Edward uses his gift to look out for people who are onto us and I use mine to make us all an obscene amount of money!"

Huh. It kinda makes sense, now that I think about it. She spends the most money by far out of everyone in the house, but she's also the one who makes it all. It's sorta fair. All of a sudden all of her purchases seem a little bit more justified. Still obscene, like she'd admit herself, but a little bit more reasonable. Who would know the value of the money spent like the one making it? Who would know if something was too expensive better than the one who knew exactly how much we had and how much time it would take to get it back?

But then I thought of something. If she could do that with five hundred dollars every month...how much money did they _have_?

***

Edward, Bella, Nessie, and I didn't get into town until a few minutes after midnight on Friday morning which, to my body, was three in the morning. Nessie was too excited about being back home for the weekend that she didn't sleep on the drive in, even though she _had_ to be tired. I, at least, had slept on the flight. I tucked her in in her bedroom in the cottage and then ran back to the Rez. It was weird having to run past my dad's house to get to my new La Push address and I was glad that there were no lights on.

Leah was sitting on the steps, smoking a cigarette. I raised my eyebrow as I stepped out from the tree line, dressed in the La Push uniform of cut-offs. The ground was surprisingly dry and I could tell that it hadn't rained in a couple of days. It was only in the high 20s out, but the cool ocean air felt different on my skin than the 20 degree air in Hanover and it was nice. It felt like home.

She saw my raised eyebrow and took a deliberate drag, blowing the smoke straight at me. I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to hear it, okay? I've heard it from _everyone_, I don't need to hear it from you."

I shrugged as I sat down next to her, she looked drained. I wonder if it was physical or emotional. I hadn't been in the best state of mind the days before Bella's wedding, either. "I wasn't going to say anything. It's not like it's going to kill you or anything." She raised her eyebrows at me, skeptically. "What? I don't care. It doesn't smell great, though."

"Well, neither do your vampire in-laws and I had to let _them_ into the house today."

"Is that why you're sitting out here?" She nodded as she exhaled a puff of smoke. "It's not _that_ bad. The smell isn't even the worst of it, it's that burning in your sinuses, but you get used to it." She snorted. "So when did all this start?" I pointed to the cigarette she was putting out on the step our feet rested on. I had already resigned myself to the inevitability of this conversation, I was the only one who understood what Leah was going through right now and I knew she needed to talk about it, even if she didn't want to. I could sleep in a little tomorrow, before running a long shift to make up for my continual absence. Nessie was helping Emily with wedding stuff tomorrow, anyway.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Two, three months."

"Why?"

"A friend from school does and really, why not? I can't even become addicted to them. Weird, huh? It's kinda nice, though. I know some people who only smoke them now because they feel the need to, but it doesn't even really relax them anymore. It still works for me." As if to prove her point, she took another out of her pack and lit it. She offered the pack to me. I thought about it, I really did, but I was so close to sleep that a depressant didn't really seem like a good idea.

"Nah. I'm too exhausted, it's..." I pulled out my phone from my bag, "...close to three-thirty my time."

"Nice phone."

I forgot that most people on the Rez don't even have cell phones, let alone the most sought after one on the market. "Yeah..." I thought about telling her the whole story, how Emmett had bought it for himself and couldn't use it, but I figured, to hell with it. I'm not making up excuses, I have nothing to be ashamed about. Still, it reminded me... "So, Alice and Esme came by earlier?"

She nodded as she took a drag and then slowly exhaled. "I'm surprised they didn't try to build an add-on while they were at it." I laughed because, sadly, she wasn't too far off about that. She turned to me. "You really want to stay here when you visit?"

I was kinda offended, but I had to remind myself that this was Leah, what sounded offensive was usually just brutally honest curiosity. "Of course! I'm jealous as hell of all this. I mean, we have a pack house! That's pretty kick ass." She shrugged. "Aw, c'mon, you know I'm right. All Sam's pack has is Emily's place and we were always very aware that it was _her_ house and that we were still company." She cocked her head to the side as she thought about what I said and then reluctantly nodded her agreement. "Besides," I bumped her shoulder with the side of my arm. "I _do_ miss you guys."

She rolled her eyes and nodded before taking another well-timed puff. Then, the biggest olive branch I've ever seen Leah give someone was handed to me. "So, how's Nessie?"

I tried to not let the shock show on my face. I didn't want her to regret asking me, especially because I think we both knew the issue we were really skirting around with all this small talk. "She's..." I wanted to say that she was fine, okay, or any other meaningless adjective that we all use in normal conversation instead of being honest with the other person, but if I was expecting Leah to open up to me, later, I would have to do it first, now. "Honestly? It's complicated. I'm not really sure." I told her about her seemingly infinite power, how she's fighting with Edward to expand upon them, why I'm scared for her.

"So that's what happened to her at your birthday party? She was overwhelmed?"

I decided to bite the bullet and tell Leah about Embry. I knew that he and Sam were planning on telling the guys after the wedding, so I figured it was safe to tell her now. I had talked to both of them over the speaker on Emily's phone Tuesday while they sat together at her table. Sam told us about his plans to go to school with Emily in the fall and they told me about their plans to have Embry move back into Sam's pack. They wanted to do it early, in case it didn't work. Embry just wouldn't be able to shift.

"Kinda. Do you remember how Embry walked into the party right after she collapsed and wanted to talk to me?"

Her eyes widened. "Yeah!" She shook her head. "Man, I had forgotten about that. What was that all about, anyway? The Brianna kiss thing?"

I was surprised for a minute that she knew about that before I chastised myself for being so stupid. _I_ was the only one that wasn't in their heads all the time. Of course _they_ knew about that. I guess the imprinting was so new that he had a fool-proof way to not think about Billy when he was phased. "Kinda. Do you know why Embry moved out and Lily moved back up to Neah Bay?"

She nodded and I waited for her to exhale and tell me what I knew would only be a half-truth. "Yeah. They got in a fight because of Brianna. She probably moved back up there so she could keep an eye on her pedophile of a son and the object of his obsession." Ah, it was good to see some things never changed. I almost smiled at that..._almost_.

"That's part of it. After his mom found out about Brianna he wanted to explain everything to her, that he was a wolf, imprinting, everything. But first, he wanted to know who his father is."

"No shit! Goddamn, sometimes this place is better than any soap opera that's ever been written!" Her face turned down then and I knew she was thinking about the role she played in this sordid, supernatural soap.

I helped her out of her self-pitying state. "It's Billy, Leah."

She was shocked. Seriously, shocked. She dropped her cigarette. I mean, she was able to catch it before it hit the ground, but she was so stunned that it literally slipped from her fingertips. "No shit!" She whispered it this time. "Sam always thought he was Joshua's. Even before he phased, he was always convinced that Embry was his brother."

"Guess he was wrong."

"Oh, man, Jake. That really sucks." I shrugged. "Are you talking to Billy?"

"I'm staying here, aren't I?" That came out wrong, it seemed like I was saying that I didn't really want to stay here.

Leah seemed to know what I meant, though, because she just took a drag on her cigarette with wide eyes. "Wow, Jake. Just...wow!"

"Yep. To say I'll never forget my 18th birthday would be an understatement." I rubbed my eyes with my palms. The day just kept getting longer and longer.

"Is Embry talking to him? I mean, does he know Embry knows?"

"He knows. I'm actually not really sure if Embry's talked to him or not. I guess I wouldn't be surprised either way. He wasn't too happy with either of his parents the last time I saw him, though."

She nodded her head, absentmindedly. "So, Embry's emotions sent her over the top?" She brought the conversation back full circle and I nodded.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while and I waited until I saw her light her third cigarette to bring up the one taboo topic that left us both out here acting like I hadn't come home for any specific reason. I tried to approach the subject in a roundabout way, but she knew what I was doing the moment it came out.

"Embry's taking over for Sam. He's going to quit phasing after the wedding."

She took a long drag, holding it a little longer than she had any other time, before exhaling slowly. She saw right through me. "I know. Emily told me."

That surprised me. How did Sam and Emily think they were going to keep this thing a secret if they kept telling wolves? "Oh," was my brilliant reply. "Wait. She told you that Embry was taking over for him?"

She shook her head. "No, just that Sam wasn't going to be a wolf, anymore. Not that that changes anything, does it? I mean, it's not like we've shared a mind in a long time." I knew that the bitterness in her voice was directed at Sam's imprinting and not the fact that he could see into her mind, but I went along with it. No need to call her on _everything._ "She said that they were going to move out of La Push for a while to go to school." She shrugged.

"It'll be better, you know, if you don't see him all the time."

She ignored me, suddenly fascinating with the ash about to fall from the tip of her cigarette. "Alice and Esme dropped off a huge pull-out couch for you, you know." I knew then that this wasn't going to happen tonight. I sighed and relented my control of the conversation, if I had ever had it at all.

***

The night before his wedding, the other wolves and I took Sam out for a bachelor party run. Some of the younger guys were disappointed that there wouldn't be strippers, but the other imprinted wolves and I understood that it would be pointless for Sam. The ugliest woman in the world and the most beautiful will always hold exactly the same amount of draw compared to our girls, absolutely none.

We phased back and forth often, knowing that half of us couldn't talk to the other half. Though it might have had more to do with the fact that Paul and Jared had collected money from all of us to buy out half a liquor store and no one was willing to hold the bottle up to another guy's mouth when they were in wolf form. It was pretty amusing to see everyone's Wolf Packs overflowing with liquor bottles, I don't think that Alice had that in mind when she designed them.

We soon learned that Sam was a sentimental drunk, Seth was a goofy drunk, and Paul was a competitive drunk. We were screwing around in a clearing when he came up with, what was in our drunken minds, the greatest idea ever. Thus, the first annual Werewolf Olympics began. We quickly came up with three events: racing, sparring, and howling contests. We also decided that we should race as both as our wolf-selves and as humans.

Sam didn't let the new kids, including Collin and Brady, drink with us, so they were much more coordinated than us as we ran. We were evenly matched, though, given that we're so much bigger than they are. It soon became obvious, though, that we should have made up some rules because we were throwing each other into trees and all but tackling each other to take the lead. I would've won, too, if Paul hadn't pushed Embry out of the way. Embry, in fourth place, fell into Jared in third who howled so loudly that I involuntarily turned around, allowing Sam to pass me. I got second place and the overly-aggressive and overly-celebratory Paul came in third. When we raced as humans, our heights pretty much determined the outcome. My stride was much longer than everyone else's, so I was able to stay far enough in front to avoid any bloodshed. Embry came in second and Paul pouted when Sam got third place and he failed to rank.

The howling contest wasn't even fair. As soon as Sam and I howled, our double-timbre Alpha voice took over and there was no point in going any further. Everyone accepted defeat and moved on.

The sparring tournament filled most of the night. Since there were seventeen of us, it took a while to go up against each other, losers playing losers, winners playing winners. I must admit, I was out of practice. I don't run with the guys anymore, kicking each other's asses for the hell of it. I was lucky to win my third place match-up with Jared, and it was only because I had sheer size on my side. Paul was once again knocked out of contention and Embry beat Sam in the last round to get first place. I was the only one, besides the two, who saw the irony of the outcome. Thankfully, I was watching the match as Jake and not wolf-Jake, so I didn't give anything away.

Towards the end of the night, we decided to cliff dive. We were all covered in sweat and dried blood from the sparring matches, so it seemed like a good idea. After treading water below the cliff for a while, one of the new wolves climbed back up to the top and did a crazy acrobatic dive back in. A fourth event in the Olympics was immediately created. In this event, though, the younger wolves swept the floor with us old-timers. They had the coordination of a wolf, but still hadn't developed the insane muscle mass that we had. Their dives were graceful _and_ impressive. They were glad to see that they could beat us at something. Paul wasn't.

At the end of the night, mostly because it was _his_ party, we let Sam ruin our buzz as he wiped tears from his eyes and talked about what the pack meant to him. When he told everyone that it would probably be his last night as a wolf, everyone was shocked. The guys hugged him and told them they'd miss him. The rest of the guys were even more surprised when Embry announced that he was going to rejoin the soon-not-to-be-Sam's pack. He explained that Billy was his father and that he would be taking over as Alpha. There were a lot of gaping mouths and stares directed at me after that. I just shrugged. What was I supposed to say?

Fortunately, Sam was there to speak for the three of us. He spoke more for the sake of my pack than his own, they would be in his head in a minute. Still, it was nice that he included us, especially when he turned in a circle to look each one of us in the eye.

He lingered on the six of us that, even though we tried not to think of each other in that way, were the original pack. We were the ones that had fought together on that day a year and a half ago. We had taken lives together. Try as we might to not think of them that way, and it was becoming increasingly harder for me not to, we all knew that we had killed those that used to be humans. Pawns in a sick, vindictive vampire's game, but pawns nonetheless. They were sentient creatures with pasts, families, and feelings. There was no going back from that, nothing that could remove that bond from us.

Leah really should have been here for this, she was one of the original eight, too. It sucks for Collin and Brady, but they just weren't there. It was not hard to imagine that we were all thinking about the same thing when Sam finally spoke. "Control, brothers. Speed and safety to you."

I smiled nostalgically at the old farewell that had gone out the window as soon as Leah had phased and said, along with five others, "Brothers."

"I wish I could be out there with you." No one met his eyes, afraid of what we'd see in them. Sam looked at Embry. "Ready?" He nodded mutely.

We all phased and my pack knew that Embry had taken over as Alpha when we all heard his nervous voice in my head.

_**Uh, Jake? Can you hear me?**_

_**Yeah, bro. Congratulations, Alpha!**_

Seth groaned as his thought reached into our minds. _Ah, man! Leah's going to be pissed that she missed a wolf thing! _

We laughed at that. We all knew that Leah hated being left out of the boy's club that was the pack mindset. We were still laughing as we all phased back and let the other pack in on the joke. Oh well. When was Leah _not _pissed at us for something? I guess it was a little harder to blow her off when you lived with her. I had a newfound respect for Seth.

We continued to drink and talk. Sam told the rest of the wolves that he and Emily had both applied to the University of Washington in Seattle, using their high school transcripts, and had been accepted. There was another round of congratulations and toasting. I was happy for him, he was the first to be sucked into this life, this world, and he deserved to be the first to get out.

Their retired Alpha looked the other way as Jared gave each of the nine young wolves a beer with a look on his face that said that they wouldn't push their luck and ask for more. Sam, with tears in his eyes, raised his bottle. "To Ephraim, Levi, and Quil." We bowed our heads simultaneously, without any reason to believe the wolf next to us would do the same, before we raised our bottles together and drank.

"To Sam," I said. The bottles went up again.

I walked over to Embry and put an arm around his shoulder. "Alpha." I tipped my bottle at him. He grinned and did the same back. It was nice, sharing this with him. Sam and I had _become_ peers, but it was hard to forget that he had been my leader at one point. It was different with Embry, we were peers, friends, brothers. Now we would be leaders together. In a way, it felt like some of the upheaval I had caused nearly a year ago by splitting the packs had somehow been righted. There was a new Alpha, a new acting-Chief from a long line of Chiefs, my brother, great-grandson of Ephraim Black.

***

As Nessie and I started down the Cullens' long drive-way, the sun retreated behind the cloud coverage, again. Emily had only picked that day as her wedding date after consulting with Alice. There was only one Saturday in January that would be sunny, and only for a few hours in the early afternoon. It was going to pour during their reception, it wasn't cold enough for snow, but by then the guests would be in the restaurant at the lodge on the Rez and it wouldn't matter. Emily, like most girls who get married in La Push, wanted to have the wedding ceremony on the beach. She wasn't about to let the forty degree weather ruin her plans. The Cullens didn't mind being left out of the ceremony, they knew that it was a big deal to be invited to the reception. Still, Emily felt bad about using Alice to find the only time of day that would exclude them.

In the early morning hours, Alice had been rushing around the beach, setting up tulle covered chairs and strategically placed patio heaters. Then, before the sun came out for its weekly appearance, she had moved on to Rivers Edge, the resort's restaurant, where the reception would be held in the early evening. After flitting around the room rearranging single flowers in assortments and centerpieces, she had cast a wide smile at her work and turned back to her "helpers" for the day. The term "slave" fit a little bit better as only Jasper would be on the receiving end of any kind of compensation for moving around patio heaters for an hour as she looked into the future to see where they would be most beneficial. Her eyes had swept over her husband and her brothers and landed on me. She had scowled. "You stink!"

"I could say the same thing to you, princess."

She had rolled her eyes while Emmett cracked up, forgetting it would also apply to him. "Go home and shower. I laid out your two suits on the be—"

"_Two_ suits?"

She had put her hands on her hips in a look that dared me to argue with her. "Yes, Jacob. _Two _suits. You cannot wear the same suit in the afternoon to an engagement outside that you wear in the evening to an event held indoors. Nessie's changing later, too." Then, she had turned her back dismissively. "The light gray suit is for the ceremony."

She had reached to fix a skewed place setting when I shouted, "Stop!" The four vampires froze in place until Edward had relaxed, laughing at my thoughts. I had rolled my eyes at her when she sent a death glare in my direction. "_We're_ going to have to eat with those, you know."

She hadn't even bothered to look sheepish, she just turned around again, calling, "the gray one," over her shoulder. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper had laughed and obediently turned to follow after her.

The ceremony had been nice, aside from the tie that threatened to choke me each time I had swallowed or dared to move my neck in any direction. Sadly, I had looked the most comfortable out of all the other wolves. I was probably the only one used to wearing so many layers of clothing on a daily basis. The only one who had not been fidgeting at all was Sam, but only because he was too wrapped up in Emily's every expression to even notice that he was wearing a tux and cummerbund. Alice had wanted him to wear a vest, but Emily was adamant. Maybe she had taken out her frustration over Sam's wardrobe on mine. I wouldn't have put it past her to have cajoled Edward into knotting my tie a little tighter than was necessary.

Leah had looked nice in a light purple bridesmaid dress and someone had pinned her short hair in curls around her head with light yellow flowers behind one ear. Was I the only one who noticed that she looked everywhere _but _at Sam the entire time? I can't imagine what it must have been like for her to have had to have walked down the aisle towards him, knowing it should've been in a white dress and not a purple one. I wonder if I could have handled standing beside Edward as Bella made her way towards us, knowing that she'd be taking his hands at the end of the line and not mine. Probably not. Instead of walking back down the aisle with Sam, as her new husband, at her side, Leah had walked with her brother, who was actively scanning the eyes of all the Makah girls in attendance. I noticed that he hadn't even shied away from the little girls' or the babies' or the younger women's eyes, either. He was an equal opportunity imprinter, I'll give him that. I had cynically laughed internally at his futile attempts, remembering the days that I willed true love to just _happen, already! _Sorry, Seth. When it comes, it'll sneak up on you, like it sneaked up on all of us.

Nessie and I had stopped long enough to say hi to Seth, Claire, and Leah. I whispered in Leah's ear that if she needed to get away during the reception, I'd take off with her. "Now, we'll both look at Seth and laugh and he'll think I was saying something about him." We did and he played right into it, like I knew he would. When we walked away, Leah was still laughing at her brother's attempts to tell us off for "whatever you guys were saying about me."

We had already said hi to everyone while we were waiting for the ceremony to start, so we got back in the rented Land Rover and drove home. It had been about half-way from the Rez to the house when Nessie had shown me what she had silently been mulling over for the past few minutes. She had been confused. Not all of the wolves glowed. Only Embry, Seth, and I did.

We made it to the front door under the darkening sky and, without a greeting, Edward and Carlisle opened it for us. "Are you sure?" Edward asked his daughter. She must have shown them what she had shown me because they shared a look and silent conversation before Carlisle remembered his manners and ushered us in with questions about the ceremony.

Alice went to change Nessie out of her pale grays and blues, raw silk dress. My gray suit and pale blue tie was to be replaced with a black suit and dress shirt, along with a dark green silk tie. I wondered in passing if any of these ties were even from that bottom drawer in my closet that I never open. She probably bought new ones as soon as she picked out Nessie's outfit.

When we convened at the bottom of the stairs I realized that all of the men were wearing dark suits, though they looked a shade or two lighter than my jet black one. "Charcoal, Jacob." Hmm. I wonder if he knew that or— "Alice told me." _Sure, sure. _ He rolled his eyes.

I knew what colors the girls would be wearing before they came down by just looking at their husbands' ties. Bella was wearing her usual blue, Alice was wearing gold, Esme was wearing a pale blue, and Rosalie was wearing her usual look-at-me-so-I-can-ignore-you red. Edward laughed. _Like that one, Edward? If you say it to her, I'll let you take credit for it._

He rolled his eyes at me. "If you're too chicken to use it yourself..." I narrowed my eyes at him.

My heart stopped for the second time today when I saw Nessie at the top of the stairs. Now tell me, who's more perfect than her? Nobody. Alice had pinned her hair up and the green satin dress made it seem even redder.

By the time we got to the reception, the party was going in full force. Emily, knowing the wolves would not be satisfied with only one serving, had over-ordered on the food and set it up buffet-style. It was better for the Cullens, too, no one would notice that they weren't eating. I fixed myself a plate while everyone else went to find us seats that were out of the way. The ten-to-a-table seating was perfect for us and meant that we didn't have to share with revolted wolves or uneasy humans. Sam and Emily caught up to us as they made their rounds through the tables. Alice squealed as she got up to hug Emily. Bella, Nessie and Esme were right behind her. The men at the table stood to congratulate Sam with too-cold hands in a too-warm one. How long would it take for his wolf traits to disappear?

I had never seen Sam so blissfully happy and his smile was the same one I had seen on him earlier in the day when he saw Emily walking down the aisle. It didn't look like it had ever left his face. He was the first to marry his imprint and I wondered if it would be like this for all of us as I watched Nessie slowly run across the room to say hi to my pack's table.

I was about to go join her when Carlisle, who was still standing, placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "May I speak to you for a moment, Sam." We were the last table in the room and, when Sam agreed, Carlisle led him only a few feet away to a secluded corner. The distance did nothing for our hearing, but it at least gave the appearance of privacy. The women at the table were still talking to Emily, and the men were obviously chit-chatting as a guise for listening to the conversation a few feet away from us. I at least had my utensils and cup as props to keep me busy while I eavesdropped.

"This," he handed Sam a stiff, cream-colored envelope, "is from the entire family." Sam was taken aback and he looked like he didn't want to accept it, but Carlisle raised a hand. "Please, I insist. A wedding is a momentous occasion and should be honored as such."

I felt like teaching Sam my _graceful_ mantra. He swallowed and nodded, still looking down at the envelope in his hand. I thought about what Emmett had told me nearly a year ago about the amount of money Carlisle feels is appropriate for a wedding gift, "a shitload."

Sam finally met Carlisle's golden eyes. "Thank you, sir." Wow! I never thought I would see the day when Sam Uley addressed a vampire as "sir."

"You're very welcome, Sam." When he made a motion to join his new wife, Carlisle stopped him. "One more thing." Sam looked surprised. "Jacob mentioned that you and the new Mrs. Uley," Sam smiled, involuntarily, "will be attending school in Seattle in the fall." Sam nodded, obviously curious as to where this was going. I was wondering the same thing, myself. Emmett looked just as lost as I was and I shrugged when he scrunched his eyebrows at me, questioningly.

"Last year, Esme and I purchased a five-story building in the University District. She's been renovating it and we were hoping to rent out the apartments starting this fall." What? Is he asking Sam to rent an apartment from him? "There are only nine units, two one-bedroom apartments on each floor and then a two-bedroom penthouse on the fifth. We've been looking for someone to manage the property for us. Most of the fixtures, electrical work, and piping are new, so I doubt there would be a need for repairs, for which we would hire outside workers." Carlisle chuckled a bit at the confusion on Sam's face. "I'm sorry, I'm putting the horse before the wagon, aren't I? Esme and I were wondering, Sam, if you and Emily would live in the two-bedroom unit, rent-free, obviously, as our property managers."

_Oh!_ Oh, he's good. Sam's going to see straight through this. He wasn't saying anything, though. He was just staring at Carlisle with a gaping mouth. He's going to see straight through this, _right? _Edward caught my eye, smirking. He shook his head.

Carlisle kept going, laying it on thick. "Of course, you shouldn't feel beholden to agree. Most of the tenants will be college student, so my wife and I can't think of anyone better for the job, especially considering your experience in dealing with unruly adolescents. We've been looking for a manager and it seemed fortuitous when Jacob mentioned your plans on moving to the city." He clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder "Think it over with Emily and get back to us." He walked back to the table, leaving Sam still gawking in the corner. Carlisle looked at his mind-reading son with a satisfied smirk on his face. Edward nodded and then shook his head, smiling. Jasper winked at _my_ gaping-mouthed face and leaned back in his chair.

As Sam and Emily made their way back to the head table, Emmett was still in the dark. "When did you guys buy a place in Seattle? And since when do we rent our shit out?" I shook my head, laughing. The rest of the table ignored him completely.

_Edward,_ he looked up. _Did you guys really buy a place just to give them an apartment? _

He shrugged. "We don't even own it. Esme made us put it in his name." My mouth dropped open, again.

"When are you going to tell him _that?_" I hissed quietly across the table.

Esme wasn't looking at me when she answered, she was watching, along with everyone else, Sam and Emily's first dance as a married couple. "I thought it would be a lovely graduation present for the both of them in a few years." She sighed contentedly as Sam dipped a giggling Emily. Carlisle squeezed her shoulder and, when she turned to smile at him, they kissed briefly.

I shook my head out of pure love, something usually only reserved for Nessie. The dance ended and I got up while everyone clapped, walking around the table to kiss Esme on the cheek. Her dimples were the deepest I'd ever seen them when she smiled up at me, stroking my face.

Before the father-daughter dance began, I wound my way through the tables and picked Nessie up off the chair next to Seth, sitting down in her place and setting her on my lap. Then I mentally slapped myself on the forehead for picking her up and moving her, again. She didn't seem to mind, though. Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett danced with Emily during the dollar dance, each slyly putting a hundred dollar bill in her bag. I gave the bride a twenty and Nessie gave Sam the hundred her dad had handed her before their dance. Everyone aww'd when he picked her up and swayed to the music.

Nessie ran off to say hi to Charlie and Sue after she finished dancing with Sam. I took a deep breath and followed her over to the table where my father sat. I saw the eyes of the wolves in the vicinity follow my movement. It was still new gossip for them and I wondered if they expected a confrontation. I wonder if _I_ expected a conversation.

I gave Sue a kiss on the cheek, first. My instinct was to make some joke about the house the wolves had taken off her hands. Something like, "Sorry, Sue, your couch just wasn't comfortable enough for me." But I figured it would do the exact opposite of lightening the mood and just make everyone uncomfortable. So, I just said hi and moved on to Charlie. He shook my hand and gave me a soft look. I was grateful. My guess is, even though Charlie knew about his friend's affair, he had no idea a child had resulted from it. It was the warmest he'd been to me since finding out that I had imprinted on Nessie. Since Bella had dumped my ass when Edward came back, really.

Nessie held back going to say hi to Billy, choosing, instead, to waste time by playing 20 questions with Sue. She showed me an image of touching Sue's hand after she had picked the wedding cake as her object and had taken the answer from her mind. She smiled cheekily at me and I had no choice but to smile back at her. I gave her a wink when I felt a sudden wave of calm hit me and I turned to face my father for the first time since the night of my birthday. "Billy."

He searched my eyes, sadly, before dropping his gaze back to his beer. "Hello, son."

His words unintentionally stung, but I tried not to wince. Nessie followed my lead, standing on her toes on the side of his chair to kiss him on the cheek, but not jumping on his lap like she usually did.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leah get up from her spot at the head table and head out the side doors. She was probably just going to smoke, but I told Nessie I'd meet her back at our table and walked out after her.

She was walking towards the Quileute Marina, the docks along the Quillayute River that were halfway between the River's Edge Restaurant and the Coast Guard's station. I caught up with her in the parking lot when she stopped to look for a lighter in her small purse for the cigarette she already had between her fingers.

I caught her arm and half-swung her around. She moved too easily, not putting up the usual resistance her strength afforded her with minimal effort. The stupid joke was already half-way out of my mouth when I saw her face. "Hey, c'mon, they're gonna think you're stealing a bo—" There were tears streaming down her face. I hadn't seen her look this miserable since her father's funeral. Even then, I think she held her tears back better than she did then.

I didn't think, I just pulled her towards me, hugging her. "It's okay, Leah. I know this is hard for you." She managed a small, sarcastic snort. "Hey, at least you didn't phase, right?"

She pulled away a little and I let her, keeping a grip on her arms while she looked up at me. "Can I tell you the truth, Jacob? I don't even know if I'm still in love with him, anymore." She leaned towards me and almost whispered it. "I mean, at first I just held onto it because _I_ deserved to feel it. _I _had put in the effort, the work that goes into a relationship, for months. _I_ had two weeks of sleepless nights when he phased for the first time and _I_ was out of my mind thinking of all the horrible things that could've happened to him."

The bitterness was gone from her voice from the first time since I had known her. It was pure anger now. It was nice...it was real. This was good. Maybe not good, but better, at least. I led her to the docks and we sat at the edge, staring at the river running past us. She finally found her lighter and, wiping the drying tears from her face, lit one end of the cigarette while she sucked in on the other. She continued on in the same thought after exhaling. "That he was killed, dead in a ditch somewhere. That he had run off to find his dad and left me behind. Anything, you know? No theory was too crazy."

I nodded in understanding. She went on after taking a desperate looking pull from the blazing, cool relief between her fingers. "I knew he hadn't been feeling well before he left. He had had a fever for a week and refused to kiss me because he was afraid of getting me sick. Stupid, huh? Then, the night he phased, I convinced him that he was feeling fine, that he should listen to what Old Quil had told him when he had run into him a few days earlier, that Uley men ran hot when they reached maturity. I convinced him..." She took another drag. "We had sex. After...he said that he felt weird." I knew that they had had sex before. There was no filter in that pack mind of ours, but still, it was weird to hear her confirm it out loud like that.

I gave her another nod, this time to tell her to keep going. I had never heard the whole story before. At least, not from Leah's perspective. I doubt anyone had.

"Two weeks later he shows up. No explanation, no nothing. I was too happy to see him to be pissed that he 'couldn't'," she made air quotes, "tell me where he'd been or what had happened to him. He was different, though. It didn't feel the same as it always had. I assumed the worst, that there was someone else. I confronted him and he told me I was crazy. We didn't have sex anymore, he would barely kiss me. I know now that he was afraid of hurting me, of phasing when he...you know." She looked down at the fire in her hands when she said that and it was endearing. I had never seen her self-conscious before. She'd stare us down if she caught one of us peeking after she phased, instead of covering herself.

"I know," I said, softly. It was a fear a lot of the imprinted wolves had. I had heard Jared worry about it once. Sam had heard him, too, and had made me phase back while he talked to him about it. I figured then that it was because Sam had had similar worries with Emily. I guess now I know that he had worried about that before he had ever even met Emily.

"It got worse before it got better. I would pick fights with him just so that I wouldn't have to see that calm and collected Sam that had replaced my fun and passionate one. He would leave as soon as he started shaking and wouldn't come back for hours." She had started crying silent tears, again. I moved closer to her but made no move to comfort her. I _couldn't_ scare her off. Not now. Not when she was so close to something. Closure, or something. Something more real than bitterness.

This time she kept going without me having to nudge her along. I took that as a good sign. "So, I did the only thing I _could_ do, I learned to love the new Sam. Something had happened to him in those two weeks. That's all I knew. Something had happened and it had changed him. I assumed it was something traumatic, so I stopped pushing him. I _wouldn't _stop loving him. Can you believe that shit? I didn't think it was fair if _I_ stopped loving _him_." She was sobbing now and I held her to me, holding her behind the neck and lower back, placing her face on my shoulder while she let it all out.

"That's okay, Leah. You did exactly what a loving girlfriend would do. It's not you, honey, it was him, it was_ all_ him. I remember what he was like, when he was that playful boy. But _he_'s gone now. _That_ Sam's gone. _You_ were the only one that had that boy, Leah. But Emily gets the broken man." Her sobs turned into shaking wails. I rocked her against me and kept going. "Somewhere, Leah, I swear to god, somewhere out there is a guy who will love you no matter what goddamn thing life could throw at him. You'll find him, Leah. I promise you, you'll look into a pair of eyes one day and you'll be whole."

* * *

_Author's Note: _Does this count as leaving a character writhing in emotional pain? I sure hope not, because that means I would have broken my promise. I prefer to think of Leah's little break-down as the first step towards closure. I hope that those of you who like Leah as a character, as I do, feel like I have done her justice in this chapter.

Three things:

Firstly, if anyone was wondering or, if anyone caught it: "Control, brothers. Speed and safety to you," along with the, "Brothers," that follows it, are both Stephenie Meyer-created. I stole it from the original draft of New Moon, in which Bella doesn't learn what Jacob is until Edward alludes to it in the last line. In this version, he saves her from the cliff-diving, takes her back to Billy's, and, when they think she is unconscious, hears this bizarrely formal goodbye from Sam while the rest of the wolves go off to hunt Victoria. You can find the PDF under the out-takes section of the New Moon page on Stephenie Meyer's website.

Secondly, I do not condone smoking cigarettes. However, if they were as undamaging to the human population as they are to the werewolf one, I wouldn't have any sort of problem with it.

Finally, Post-It is a product of the 3M company. Please do not sue me because Renesmee loves your products so much.


	9. Book One: Part Nine

_Author's Note:_ Two quick things. First, I am happy to report that I have been nominated for a Indie TwiFic Award. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to put a URL in here, but you can Google it fairly easily. Even if you don't vote, for me or for anyone else, I suggest checking out the site. It's a great way to find new FanFics and I already have tons of new bookmarks for stories that will most assuredly pull me away from my writing. It's also time for the Bellies, so you might want to check out those nominations, also.

Second, on a much more personal note, I will be moving from LA to SD at the beginning of August, so my updates may be non-existent during the last two weeks in July and the first week in August. Just a heads up. I hope to post before I need to pack up my life for the ninth time in as many years!

_Stephenie Meyer:_ If not for the brilliant way you've created each species and character that you fully own, I would not get in so many heated debates with my husband about which I would rather become: a vampire or a werewolf. If I am ever able to pick one side wholeheartedly against the other in your great debate, it will be a sad and devil's-advocate-less day.

* * *

***_**  
I feel just like a local god  
When I'm with the boys.**_

--Everclear_  
Local God  
_***

Esme met me at the door when I came home from practice the Monday after Sam's wedding. "Oh, thank goodness you're home, Jacob. She won't speak to either of us." As soon as we walked into the house, I followed her gaze out the back window-wall to the back deck where Emmett sat, watching Nessie pace back and forth in front of him. I was already sprinting over to her when Esme called after me. "She let me call Carlisle, but she threw a fit when I tried to call Edward."

Nessie lifted her gaze up from the line she was walking when I stepped out into the cold, snowy night. There were tears in her scared, widened eyes when they met mine. "Oh, Jacob." She ran and jumped into my arms. I immediately started to rub her back, hoping to soothe her, as she nuzzled into my neck. "I'm...in...so...much...trouble." She sobbed in between her words, wetting my shirt collar.

Huh? "Why? What's going on?" She spilled her thoughts out to me. She was fed up with Edward's refusal to let her develop her powers and, when her lessons with Carlisle, Bella, and Jasper became more and more unnecessary, she became more and more frustrated. So, she had made a decision last weekend. She would think back to the lessons in the beginning of the fall, when Bella was helping her break through her shield, and teach herself. She had practiced the last two nights, while a majority of the family was at school, and had succeeded half an hour earlier, while she sat "reading," watching Esme cook my dinner. Now, she felt the unyielding pull of the shield, and knew it was only a matter of time before Edward got home from his night classes and found out.

The image ended and Esme and Emmett looked at me, worriedly and expectantly. Nessie was still quietly sobbing into my neck. It was the first time she had no way out of being caught disobeying Edward and she was scared. Sure, she had been scolded by her father before, but it was mostly for small things. She was usually able to brush him off and roll her eyes at him while he pretended he hadn't caught the annoyance in her thoughts. But this, this was different. I stood there, trying to figure out what to tell Nessie that might calm her down, when we both knew that Edward was going to be home in a few minutes. He was going to be _pissed_. It was easier to answer the looks on Esme and Emmett's faces, first. "Nessie has a shield like Bella, now." They seemed to understand, but didn't say anything as their faces showed telltale signs of worry. Esme knew a large family fight was on the horizon, which always made her upset and Emmett had incurred the wrath of his brother enough times to empathize with his niece. They both looked as helpless as I felt to comfort her.

Carlisle showed up a few minutes later. Nessie, who I had managed to calm down until her sobs were just sniffles, was brought to a whole new set of tears while I filled Carlisle in on what had happened. He assured his granddaughter that he would speak to Edward for her, if she waited upstairs. For once, I don't think she minded being left out of an important conversation.

I carried her to my room, putting my new let's-treat-Nessie-older-than-she-looks rules on hold. I caught a glimpse of ourselves in the large window-wall as we entered the house from the deck. She really was getting big, and her legs almost met behind my back as she latched on to me. I didn't like her gaining these powers any more than Edward did, but he had to learn at some point that she wasn't a baby, anymore. Hell, I was beginning to realize she never _had_ been.

I hung up my bag on the back of the door and lay down next to her on my bed. She curled up next to me as I rubbed large circles on her back. I hoped she would fall asleep before her father got home. I knew she would listen in and I didn't want to upset her. I also knew that she would listen to Carlisle, though, and stay out of it. Carlisle was the strongest ally to have in the house and everyone always succumbed to his demands if it meant they would have his support. The weight he wielded, especially with Edward, was impressive. Though, when it came to Nessie, Edward always made it clear that his word as father could not be trumped.

When her breathing evened out, I kissed her on the forehead and moved off the bed. Her eyes opened, she hadn't been asleep. I sighed. "I need to go downstairs, now, honey. I can't even hear if they're here." She nodded in understanding, but the lip she was chewing on quivered a little. I brushed some hair back from her face and stroked her cheek. "It'll be okay." She nodded, absently. We both knew I was full of shit, no one knew how bad this was going to be.

As I opened the door to our hallway, I heard Carlisle calmly explaining to Edward, "You can smell her scent, son, you know she's here. I had Jacob put her to bed." I made it to the bottom of the stairs in time for Carlisle to nod in my direction when he said my name. Jasper and Alice were back from class, too. Rosalie's class always ran later than theirs on Monday. She was going to come back to an interesting discussion.

They hadn't made it past the entryway and, when Carlisle told him that Nessie was upstairs, he had already taken a couple of steps towards me before he asked the question that had probably been bugging him from the time that he realized Nessie was in the house. "Why, can't I hear her, Carlisle?" He didn't look at his father, though, he was still looking at me, on the last step. I crossed my arms over my chest, guarding the path. There was no way he was going up there until he had calmed down. My thoughts seemed to piss him off and put everything in perspective. "What did she do?" Though, something told me he knew _exactly_ what she had done. Why else couldn't he hear her? He turned to his wife. "Bella, did you know about this?"

She turned on her husband, having put the pieces together as soon as she saw me blocking the way to Nessie. She jabbed a finger at his chest. "I _told_ you this would happen. If you hadn't been so damn stubborn, she wouldn't have done this behind our backs."

He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he used to the other to gesture slowly. He spoke as though he were explaining something to her for the millionth time, and he was. "She is just a _child_, Bella. _She_ does not mandate her will upon _us_. _We_ are her parents. _We_ decide what is acceptable. _We—_"

"_We_ didn't decide anything, Edward. _You_ did." The other two couples made their way to the couches, where Emmett was already sitting, obviously not wanting to be a part of the same argument that we've all been hearing for a month. I didn't give up my position on the stairs. Edward sighed and opened his mouth to launch into the second part of his argument. As if she didn't have it memorized by now. As if we _all_ didn't have it memorized by now. Bella held up her hand, rolling her eyes at him. "Save your breath, Edward, I know what comes next." There were a few snickers from Emmett at that, but he shut up when Esme shot him a look.

"It's too late for your objections, anyway. What's done is done." She silenced him with a look this time when he opened his mouth. "That's not to say that she won't be punished for disobeying us."

He huffed and started pacing, muttering under his breath. "Punishment? What punishment?" Then he raised his voice. "What are we going to do, Bella? _Ground_ her?" He rolled his eyes, but his wife hummed at the thought. "Oh, don't be absurd, Bella. I was being facetious. Besides, where does she go? She has to hunt."

"Yes," She conceded. "But she doesn't have to go to Jake's basketball games." Ouch.

"You can't be serious." The look she gave him said that she was dead serious and it was daring him to object. "You honestly believe that missing some of Jacob's games is a suitable punishment for disobeying us as greatly as she has?"

"Yes." She said simply. He growled in frustration and continued pacing. "You're as much to blame for all of this as she is." His jaw tensed but he didn't miss a step, until she said. "I am, too." Edward whipped around to meet his wife's eyes. "It's true. I allowed you to be unreasonable and I knew she was going to act out."

In a flash, Edward had Bella in his arms. "None of this is your fault, love." I rolled my eyes. I doubt I was the only one, too. I've never been able to figure out if it was more disgusting to watch Emmett and Blondie go at each other's throats in some form of foreplay, or to watch Bella and Edward fall all over each other playing the no-_I'm_-more-at-fault game when their fights were over. Right now Bella and Edward were winning. At least Edward had calmed down. I sat down a few steps behind my feet.

"Yes it is," Bella dry-sniffled into his neck. "I've just been so worried about the both of you. I know my shield is the last thing you wanted her to have."

"That's not true." She stepped away from him and gave him a disbelieving look. "_My_ power is the last one I'd want her to have." Jasper and I nodded in agreement, our sudden movements reminding them that they had an audience.

"It might not be that bad, Edward." Alice spoke up from Jasper's lap on the couch. "Once you knew how much Bella liked having her thoughts guarded from you, you didn't mind as much." He snorted and his sister shrugged.

"What are you even so worried about?" Emmett spoke up for the first time, brave now that Alice hadn't gotten her head bit off when she spoke up.

He sighed and Bella put her head on her husband's shoulder. "She's already so good at packaging her thoughts when I'm around. How long has she been planning this? I had no idea." He spun himself around and looked down at me. "Did you _know_ about this?" Huh? Oh, I must have answered his question in my mind.

"Calm down." I rolled my eyes. "I found out twenty minutes before you did. She explained everything to me, though."

"Of course, she'd tell _you_." He mumbled it, but we all heard him, perfectly. So that's what all this is about? He was _jealous? _Not that I _hadn't_ been jealous of the fact that he could hear her all the time. When Jasper tried to hide a laugh in a cough, I knew that I was right. I always thought it was pretty stupid when one of the Cullens did that, it's not like it's believable for them to be coughing, anyway. Edward tried to change the subject. "I just wish that Renesmee's powers hadn't just sneaked up on us. I should have had a more substantial conversation with Eleazar about it last winter."

"It's not like you didn't know from the beginning that there was something special about her abilities, Edward." Jasper had eyes fixed on the domed glass ceiling above us, his neck resting on the back of the couch. Suddenly, he covered his eyes with his hand and muttered, "Sorry."

But it was too late, Bella was already pulling away from her husband. "What does he mean, Edward?"

Esme tried to save her "first-born" from the wrath of his wife. "Well, dear, Carlisle had never heard of a single vampire having _two_ powers before." Throwing her husband under the bus to save her son. Jesus, Edward's a momma's boy.

Edward ignored me as he pleaded with his eyes. You could almost hear his internal chant of "Please, Bella, don't make this a big deal..._Please_ don't make this a big deal..." Apparently, Emmett could, too. He wasn't even trying to hide his laughter.

"When will you learn, Edward Cullen..." _Uh oh_, full name. "...to stop hiding things from me?" I couldn't watch another one of these. I got up and climbed the stairs. "We've been talking about this for _months_ and you never _once_ thought to bring it up_?_ Or how about that day in the woods when we were hunting and we first talked about it?"

"Bella, love, I knew you had far more pressing matters weighing on your mind. The Vol—"

All I heard was her annoyed hiss at him as I shut out the argument with our sound-proof door and walked around the corner to my room. I was surprised that Nessie wasn't waiting for me at the top of the stairs, or just inside the hallway. Instead, I found her in the same position I had left her in. In fact, it looked like she hadn't moved at all. Her heart rate was slower than normal, but she still wasn't asleep.

I sighed as I lay down next to her, kissing her forehead before resting my head beside hers on the pillow. She still hadn't move a muscle. I frowned. "You okay, honey?" Nothing. I sat up, putting my feet on the floor, and turned to really study her. Her eyes were glazed over and she hadn't blinked since I'd been in the room. She was still staring at a spot on the door, despite the fact that my face had interrupted her field of vision a couple of times. Her body was sprawled out at an odd angle and all of her entire body looked limp. I was tempted to pick up an arm just to see if it would drop straight down if I let it go. Her mouth was half-open and her usually flushed lips and cheeks were pale.

My heart was beating ten times faster when I finished my little inspection that it had been before I started. "Nessie?" Silence. "C'mon, Nessie, say something." I risked shaking her shoulders a little, her head hung back from her neck and swung effortlessly. Fuck! "Nessie?" The panic was seeping into my voice as I picked her up and cradled her in my arms. "Oh, god, Renesmee, you're really scaring me."

My door swung open and Edward flew towards the bed, dropping to his knees in front of me. He allowed me to hold her while he took her pulse. I was glad he didn't try to take her from me. I would have fought him for her and it would have just wasted time.

"Nessie?" Bella was standing over us, mewling her daughter's nickname. She ran the back of her hand along Nessie's forehead.

"I think you're right, Carlisle." Nessie's grandfather ran from the room. "I need to get her downstairs." I stood up before he had the time to snatch her from me and raced down the spiral staircase. I cursed myself as I trailed behind the Cullens, but Carlisle wasn't in the living room when I got there, so I knew my lack of speed hadn't hurt the situation any. Though, I should have suspected it wasn't when Edward didn't try to wrench her from my grip.

At some point in time Rosalie had come back home and Emmett stood behind her with his arms over her chest. She stood watching her niece with wide eyes. Next to them, Alice had her arms around her mother's waist. Esme was grasping on to Alice's sweater with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. Jasper was standing a few feet behind his wife. His eyes tightly shut, whether out of concentration or pain, I couldn't tell. Bella and Edward stood grieving in front of me while I held their daughter, her legs limp and dangling off my forearms.

Seconds later, Carlisle came rushing back into the room with a bag of blood. Oh, thank god! Bella held the back of Nessie's neck while Carlisle poured the donated human blood down his granddaughter's throat. Her eyes were the first things to move on her body. Instead of blinking or looking around the room, the rolled back into her head as she slowly closed them. I would have been concerned but for the small moan she made as she greedily began to swallow.

I let out a huge sigh when Carlisle stepped away for another bag and Nessie's coloring began to return to her face. She no longer needed her mother's support on the back of her neck, though Bella sure as hell wasn't going to stop touching her. It was only then that I realized that my face was wet with tears. I could care less. Nessie was okay. She rested with her eyes closed, sighing softly. I leaned down and kissed her forehead and I swore I saw her lips turn up for half a second.

While relief was flooding me, anger was filling Edward. He had taken a few steps back from us at the same time his father did and was gripping his hair so tightly that I was afraid it would come out in patches. Could a vampire's hair even be pulled out? Bella's gaze left her daughter's face for the first time as she looked nervously over at her husband. Her eyes softened as she scanned the room and saw the faces of her family. She gave me a sad smile as she took in my tears. I wasn't about to relax my grip on Nessie to wipe them so Bella helped me out.

Bella fed her the next two bags as Carlisle went to comfort Esme. Everyone ignored Edward's silent agonizing except his wife, who looked away from Nessie every few seconds to look over her shoulder at her husband. In the end, it was the sound of my growling stomach that made Nessie's eyes snap open. I ignored it, choosing to beam down at the girl in my arms instead of worrying about something as trivial as hunger.

"Hey, honey. Feeling better?" She nodded and then leaned back, closing her eyes, again. She didn't send me an image, just the sound of my hungry stomach. "Don't worry about me. I just need you to rest, okay?" She nodded, again, smaller this time.

"Did she tell you something?" Edward's voice sounded defeated, but it still carried an edge of anger in it that I didn't understand. I just nodded. He growled softly at no one in particular. After letting out an insanely deep breath as slowly as he found possible, he addressed his daughter. His voice was more controlled this time, but still as empty. "Please refrain from using any of your power right now, Renesmee. The reason you are so weak is because your energy is being drained by them." Her forehead was creased in confusion as he spoke, but by the end she was nodding in agreement. I stroked her cheekbone with my thumb as I took that in. These powers were more damaging to her than we'd thought.

"Than _you_ thought, maybe," Edward sneered at me, under his breath. I gave him a dirty look. _Don't take this out on _me_. I'm on _your_ side and you know it. You think I _like_ seeing her like this?_ He ignored me as he stood in front of me, looking at Nessie. She opened her eyes when she sensed his presence and I lowered my arms a little so she could look up at him. _Asshole_, I thought to him. He continued to ignore me.

He stroked the hair that was hanging by her face and she closed her eyes briefly at the sensation. He traced her face with such a heartbreaking look in his eyes that I had to look away. Bella went to stand next to her husband and he placed his free arm around her waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss on the forehead before they both focused their attention on their daughter, again. Daughter and mother locked eyes for a second. "We know you are, sweetie, and you're forgiven. Just don't use your powers, anymore, okay?"

Nessie nodded at Bella before turning her attention to her father. He gave her a weak smile before gently kissing her on the forehead. Before he moved an inch away from her face, her mouth moved slightly, forming nearly silent words. It was the first time she had really spoken to him in a month. "I love you, Daddy." His smile grew wider at the same time his eyes grew sadder.

***

Nessie became a prisoner of her own bed for weeks after she developed Bella's shield. The constant strain of too many powers weighed on her and she slept on and off throughout the day while still managing to sleep longer than me at night. She was too weak to hunt, so Edward and Bella drained animal blood into stainless steel thermoses for her. She hadn't had donor blood since that first night.

During the first couple of days, it was obvious that she was miserable, but she never complained. She knew that it was her own stubbornness that had put her there. She spent the mornings trying to reign in her powers. It was decided early on that they needed to figure out a way for her to turn her powers off and on. It was apparent, though, that they were just guessing when it came to figuring out how to teach her to do it. Bella's shield just _was_ and the only way she knew to take it off of her was to pull it off of her own mind. Unfortunately, this was extremely physically straining, which completely defeated the purpose. Jasper had tried for years to get past the pain of the horrible emotions that his gift had forced upon him during his long time with Maria, he had never figured out a way to shut it off.

A week and a half later, Nessie was frustrated. Practice sessions were going nowhere and she was tired of her shrinking world, which now consisted of days in her bed and nights in mine. She read all day, mostly textbooks. She didn't wait for me to get home to do studying, anymore. Not that I blamed her. She had nothing else to do all day.

Her aunts still dressed her in the morning, spending more time on her hair than they normally did because they knew she was bored. Ironically, disobeying him had brought Nessie closer to Edward. He couldn't hold a grudge against her and, even though she tried to hide it from him in the beginning, he knew how awful she felt all day and took pity on her. Bella had told Nessie that Edward was sad about the connection that he felt was lost now that he was unable to hear her mind. So, Nessie went out of her way to make time for her dad. They played the piano in her room together, sat and read quietly next to each other, watched DVDs, and even bonded over board games. It was a little weird seeing Edward do something as normal as playing Clue, but I was just glad that Nessie never read books to him the way she read books to me. That was _our_ thing. I probably would have been jealous of all the time they were spending with each other, if it wasn't during the time I was in school, anyway.

Soon, the gifts started coming. The first surprise Edward brought in for his daughter was an electric keyboard, which Edward had called a bastardization of a great musical instrument when Nessie had asked for it in the past. He told Bella and I, when we both raised our eyebrows, that it was purely practical: she could play without having to get up and sit on her bench. I didn't tell him that the reason Nessie had wanted one in the first place was so that she could play for me in bed. Then, Amazon was delivering boxes of books, DVDs, and CDs, daily. She started getting away with little things, too. Suddenly, sugary cereals and chocolate desserts were counting towards her twice-a-week dinners.

Between games, practice, school, and homework, Nessie and I spent less and less time together. She was usually napping during lunchtime, so I ate lunches alone with Bella at the second house. As nice as it was having our own time together, I missed Nessie and our lunch dates. After school was worse. I still got out early, with an hour to kill before practice, so I sat in my rarely used Hanover bedroom doing homework and eating the only snacks I was capable of putting together. Esme and Bella began cooking dinner for me in the little kitchen outside of our study, so that Nessie could lay down on our couch while I ate at my desk. Our nights were spent with me sprawled out on my bed doing homework, while Nessie sat up and read next to me. Sometimes, if Nessie was feeling up for it, we wouldn't leave the study after dinner and I'd finish my homework up there.

Nessie's frustration soon turned into irritability, which came to a head on a Sunday in mid-February. I had woken up before Nessie, which had become increasingly common, and, after breakfast, gave my cars and even my motorcycle a good wash. My Rabbit had become somewhat unnecessary, and I didn't know what to think about that. Before I had headed back in the house, I also changed the fluids in my Spyker and cleaned its engine. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's popping the hood and seeing only grease and battery acid. I envied the rest of the Cullens, who were able to use their free time in the middle of the night to do their chores. It's no big deal washing a car at two in the morning when you had night-vision and couldn't get cold. Not to mention the fact that they could wash and wax even Emmett's over-sized Jeep in under ten minutes.

After taking a shower, I had cleaned our bathrooms and went downstairs to pick up our study when I found, in the spot that Nessie used to hide them, some overdue library books. Shit. We had gone to the library the weekend before Sam and Emily's wedding, so the books were already a week late. I knew from Rebecca's horrible track record of returning books late to the Forks library, that they started sending notices to your house after a while. Shit. That would not be a good way for Edward to find out that I'd been sneaking his daughter to Boston twice a month. Thankfully, he had gone out with Bella to hunt for Nessie and hadn't heard my thoughts. While Nessie and I hunted in the woods right behind the house, the rest of the family usually ran to the two wildlife reserves in the area. Still, I hadn't had much time.

I had run back upstairs and found Nessie awake but still in bed, flipping channels. She had looked bored, like she did most of the time those days, but her face had lit up when I walked into the room and plopped down hard on the bed next to her, making her bounce. She had giggled and I kissed her forehead, soaking up her rare good mood. "What are you going to do today, Nessie?"

She had put down the remote and turned towards me. "Well...I was thinking that we could finish that game of Risk that we started last week and then—"

I had had to cut her off. "No can do, kid. I gotta run to Boston and return the books you checked out a couple of weeks ago. In fact, you should make me a list of what you want me to check out while I'm there."

Her face had dropped and the sour mood that she had seemed to always be in at the time, reappeared. "You're going into the city _now?_"

Shit. "I have to, Nessie. I can't have them send late notices here for Edward to find. I have to leave soon, too, while I can still tell everyone that I just have practice or something without Edward getting in my head."

She had pouted. Aw, crap. Stay strong, Jake. "Can't you go during the week? It's _Sunday._" I had known why she was whining. I had practices during the day on Saturdays, so Sundays were our only real full days together.

"I don't want to go, either, but I have to if we're going to have any chance of keeping this from your parents. And I can't go during the week. You know that."

"So, skip school on Monday and go_ then_."

My mouth had dropped open. "_Nessie_, I'm not going to skip school. You know what I promised Carlisle. Plus, if I ditch practice, my coach won't let me play."

Her pout had turned into a glare and she crossed her arms over her chest. "So, you'd rather skip out on your time with _me?_ You'd rather ditch _me?_"

Oh, _fuck!_ It was turning into our first fight. I didn't count Homecoming, because she'd been hurt and had just kind of ignored me. I'd never seen this side of Nessie, at least, not directed at me. I thought that I might be able to avoid the fight if I didn't let her words get to me. It was a long-shot, I know, considering she could feel my anger. Still, I'd known that she was only going off on me because she had been cooped up in all of the three rooms for weeks. It would have been nice if she had jumped down someone else's throat first, though.

I took a deep breath before I had answered her. "Nessie," Okay, that had come out a little harsher than I wanted. Deep breath. "I want to spend all day with you, too." Good, that sounded better than screaming, _Do you really think I don't want to spend all day with you, too?_

I had planned on going on, but she had already started talking. "Well, _obviously_, Jacob, one of us wants it a little bit more." I had sighed and gripped the hair on the crown of my head. Shit, this girl was turning me into Edward! At that thought, I had immediately let go of my hair and took another deep breath. I really didn't had time for her attitude, Edward would be home soon. I had opened my mouth to try again, but.... "Don't you become impatient with me, Jacob Black!" That power had _really_ started to piss me off. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry I'm irritating you." I had rolled my eyes at her melodramatic sarcasm and her eyes turned into slits. She'd jumped off the bed and made her way over to the door that would lead her to the shortest route back to her room, never breaking her piercing eye contact with me. "Let me make this really easy for you, _Jacob_, I don't want to see your stupid face for the rest of the day!" She had turned around and walked through the door, calling over her shoulder. "Happy?"

I'd stood there in stunned rage and, after a few seconds, let out a loud, frustrated growl. Goddammit! I had really tried to avoid a fight, but after that? _Screw__ it_, she doesn't just get yell at me and then walk away. So, I had stormed after her, all thoughts of the library books that had started this whole thing vanishing more and more with each step I took. I had thrown open her door and growled out, "_Happy? _ You really think I'm _happy_ about all of this? You really think I_ like_ fighting with you? You really think that I _wasn't_ looking forward to spending my Sunday with you? Why do you think I got all my chores done before you woke up, huh?" Her back had been to me and she ignored me, fuming as she sat cross-legged on her bed, staring out the window. Her shoulders had been rising and falling as she took in short, angry breaths.

And, then, because I'm an idiot who has no experience in dealing with women, I had done something really stupid. I remembered the reason we were having this fight in the first place and I refused to be blamed for it. "I mean, it's not _my_ fault those books are late."

_That_ had made her turn around. I had heard her growl before, playfully while we were fooling around and angrily when she was sparring with Alice. But, I had never heard her sound so much like a vampire, then when she'd whipped her body around and _hissed_ at me. The words that had come along with it were secondary to the hiss, starting after it had begun and ending before it was over. "_Excuse me?_"

_Oh, shit!_ I had really never understood the phrase "back-peddling" before, but I sure as hell did at that moment. I had gone too far and I was left hopelessly trying to go in reverse. My enraged roars had suddenly turned into meek mumbles. "Well, I mean...I was just saying that..." One look at her face had let me know that she was enjoying this. I could only guess that my goddamn emotions had been betraying me, again. I'd given up with a sigh. "Nessie, I don't want to fight with you." She'd mumbled that she didn't want to fight with me, either. "I don't know what to do about these books, though." I's sat down on her bed and buried my head in my hands. There had only been one thing I could think of to get us out of this mess. I had rubbed my eyes as I spoke, hoping my plan would sound more substantial out loud than it did in my head. "Look, Tuesday's game is near Manchester, that's practically halfway to Boston. Maybe I could pull some strings with my coach and ask if I can drive myself down there so that I can go drop off the books after the game. I'll just tell everyone that the game went into overtime, or something."

Nessie had jumped onto my lap, throwing her arms around my neck as she kissed my cheek over and over. Talk about mood swings. I hadn't complained, though. "I know this is hard on you, honey." The kisses had stopped as she buried her head in my neck. "No one likes being sick."

She'd raised her head and looked at me, an odd expression on her face. "Is that what I am?"

I had shrugged. "Sorta. When I was a kid and I got sick, I had to lay in bed all day with nothing to do and, if I was lucky, my mom would let me lay on the couch and watch TV while she made me soup for lunch. But, other than that, it was really boring and the only thing to do was sleep, which I guess is kinda the point. It sucked. Especially when Embry or Quil would call me when they got home from playing after school and they'd tell me that they had had a mud fight, or that they saw two teenagers making out on First Beach, or that we had watched a movie in class. And I would be so jealous because I had been stuck in bed and had missed it." She had nodded, absently, staring off into space. "Don't worry, they'll figure something out, soon."

"What if they don't?" She had whispered her biggest fear, my biggest fear, the family's biggest fear.

I hadn't had an answer. All I had done was hope that she couldn't feel my lack of confidence when I gave her an unenthusiastic, "They will."

And they did. A few days after our first fight, during a practice with me, her parents and Carlisle, the rubber band she'd been holding around her had snapped. Suddenly, the pressure of the shield that she had felt was gone...but Edward still couldn't hear her. Nessie had been frustrated and embarrassed to find, in her fear to stop the shield from snapping in on itself, that she had been holding it a millimeter from her body the whole time. The effort it took was what had made her weak from the beginning. She had felt stupid until her mother reminded her that it also meant that she was already able to project the shield. Pretty well, too, if she had been able to hold onto it for weeks.

After that, Nessie's energy level went back to normal, and Carlisle and Edward began to focus on figuring out a way to turn the powers off and on. Nessie, on the other hand, began to focus on getting new powers. Edward, of course, was opposed to it, but Bella said that she had learned her lesson. She wouldn't risk Nessie going behind their backs, again. Edward had relented, as long as his ability would never be on the table. Nessie had been too busy eying her aunt's power to care too much about Edward's ruling on his own.

***

The last Friday in February, Leap Day, marked the end of Nessie's punishment. It was a big game and the stands filled quickly as we warmed-up on our half court and sized up the other team. While the team had played them before, I hadn't. I had missed the first game to go be in Forks the weekend of Sam and Emily's wedding. It had been the team's first loss and I don't think I was the only one who thought it was a coincidence that we lost the one game I hadn't been in. Of course, the other time we had lost a game, I _was_ playing. I blame that one on the noticeable absence of Nessie's cheers in the crowd during the game the day after Nessie gained her shield. I had tried to tell myself that Nessie wasn't in any condition to leave the house, anyway, but that just made my sadness turn into worry. It was just as bad for my concentration.

So, not only was this our last home game, it was the game that would determine whether or not we'd make the playoffs. Mr. Miller had been drilling the importance of our game to us the entire week, since the buzzer at the end of Tuesday's game, actually. He had pulled me aside after Wednesday's practice to tell me, and he didn't want to put too much pressure on me, that there would be college talent scouts attending post-season games. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I could really care less. So, I feigned interest and hoped that I sounded nervous enough without making him regret telling me.

That night, though, after bringing it up to Jasper as an amusing anecdote, his expression had turned serious and he had called Carlisle and Edward over. Edward had been just as concerned as Jasper that it would put the family in too much danger if scouts saw me play.

So, I _was_ nervous before the game started as I half listened to the pre-game pep talk and last minute change in strategy, but not for the reason my couch thought I was, or for the reason that the rest of my teammates were. I was nervous because I was going to have throw the game. I was going to have to let the guys down _and _make it believable that their center, who was all of six-four, could best me more often than I could best him. I _hate_ losing, but what's good for the family is good for Nessie. So, it's not a question of _if_ I'm going to pull this off, but _how._

I was contemplating this from the bench when I heard my name being called behind me. It was Carrie, Brian's girlfriend. The three of us were in the same math class and he was one of the first guys on the team to really befriend me. She was right behind us in the stands, in the section reserved for the cheerleaders. Brian could barely concentrate knowing she was in the stands, so his nerves didn't hold up if he let her talk to him for a few hours before any game. He wasn't the greatest forward to begin with, so I didn't think it was such a bad idea. Over the past couple of weeks, Carrie and I had become friends. Since Brian ignored her and her best friend was usually too busing making out with the point guard during our away-game joint bus rides, she and I had started talking. Now, it was sort of a ritual between us, even during home games. I would tell her how Brian was holding up and she would wish me good luck. She was the only truly non-bitchy girl on the squad and she reminded me a little of Jared's Kim, if Kim were to take confidence lessons from Blondie.

As she was standing on the first bleacher, patting me on the head and making fun of my height, my head involuntarily snapped towards the gym's entrance because my wolf brain has just screamed, _Vampires!_ at me. As if I wasn't already nervous, I remembered for the first time that this was the game that everyone was going to go to.

Games were always on Tuesdays and Fridays and, since most of the Cullens had classes Tuesday nights, the only people who had gone to those games were Nessie, Esme, Emmett, and Carlisle when he didn't work. All of the Friday games I had before Sam's wedding were away games and only Nessie, her parents, and her grandparents had gone to those. So, tonight, the first and last Friday home game that Nessie could attend, the entire family had decided to come. Emmett had even managed to convince Blondie to show up, though I bet some of Esme's motherly guilt probably helped with that.

My face broke out into a huge smile as I caught Nessie's eyes and waved. She didn't look very happy, though. I wonder why. I only smiled brighter, though, when I saw that Alice had dressed her in my school's colors and painted my number on one of her cheeks with face paint.

"Are _they_ your roommates?" Carrie, like most people on both sides of the gym, was staring at the large group of beautiful people who, surprisingly, had no trouble getting others to make room for all nine of them in the bleachers.

Oh, yeah. Roommates. Carrie was one of the few who knew the official story of my living situation. This definitely wasn't Forks or La Push, no one knew the new kid's business before they even started school. Most people, I guess, figured that I had a normal home life like they did. I quickly tried to remember everyone's part in this charade against the people of Hanover.

"Yeah. The older blond is my uncle, Carlisle." Originally, I had planned on saying that Esme was my mother's sister, but that would make Edward my _uncle_ and Nessie my _aunt. _ That wasn't cool with me. "And the woman next to him is his wife, Esme. She has a younger brother and sister, the guy with the reddish hair and the little girl, Edward and Nessie." She was supposed to go by Vanessa to the outside world, but I couldn't bring myself to call her that. "The girl with the long brown hair is my best friend, Bella and she's dating Edward."

"I remember her, she went to Homecoming with you, right?"

I nodded. "I live with her and my_ cousin_," that was hard to spit out, "and the two other couples. The big guy is Emmett and the stuck-up blond next to him is Rosalie." I threw that in because I knew she could hear me. "The girl with the short hair is Alice and the tall blond is her boyfriend, Jasper."

"Wow. That's kinda complicated."

You're telling me. "Yep," I conceded.

"It's cool you get to live with your best friend, though. Do all your roommates go to Dartmouth?"

I nodded. "Except Emmett."

"So you live in, like, a college house?"

No, I live in a house full of old-ass vampires, my newly-turned best friend, and my child-age soul mate. "Something like that."

She laughed. "I bet you have some crazy weekends." I shrugged, not knowing what to say. I guess hunting down animals as a giant-sized wolf so that my year-and-a-half-old imprint could drink their blood and I could eat their raw flesh would be considered pretty crazy.

My coach came back from his sportsmanlike handshake-and-conversation with the other team's coach and I took it as my cue to say goodbye to Carrie and head back to the bench. I shot one more glance up at my adopted family in the stands as I took off my warm-ups. It was always weird seeing them in this setting. When I'd brought Bella to this exact gym a few months ago, or when I'd gone shopping with all of them in Boston, or when I'd taken in a Red Sox game with them it hadn't been that weird because I was _with_ them. I was my _real_ self, joining them in interacting with the oblivious world. But here, where my two worlds were colliding, it was a little odd. Here, I felt alone in the charade, while they looked on at my performance.

Nessie looked a little happier now, and I smiled broadly at her. Esme and Bella both had silly grins on their faces as they took me in in my uniform and I waved to both of them. I was suddenly very thankful that I had successfully managed to talk them into keeping their camera at home. Alice and Rosalie were talking about the cheap fabric in the cheerleaders' uniforms while their husbands whispered to each other about something. I wonder what that's about. Emmett caught my eye and winked at me before laughing and turning back to his conversation with Jasper. Carlisle was trying to comfort an uncomfortable-looking Edward who was undoubtedly hearing and seeing tons of fantasies starring his wife, mother, and sisters. Yeah, I'm not looking forward to Nessie getting_ that_ particular talent.

Then it was time for tip-off, which I always handled for our team. I just had to jump with about a tenth of my power so that I could get the ball, but not sail high enough to grab the gym's rafters. I was also very cautious about making shots. I only allowed half to go in when I was under the net with the percentage decreasing the farther I got from the basket, and I never made a shot from over ten feet away. I allowed a few more rebounds to get past me than usual and I helped keep us behind in the score by under ten, so that we'd lose, but not be blown out.

The first quarter passed pretty normally and I was able to try a little less while not gaining any attention for it. Then, about two-thirds of the way through the second quarter, I began to feel nervous again. Which was kinda weird, because I had started to get into a little routine and I wasn't think about much but the action centering around me. In the heat of the game, I realized that I was right under the net and the ball was in my hands. Suddenly, a blanket of indecision came over me. I dumbly stared at the ball and movement around me stopped for a second while the other player wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Then, my hands were empty and the rest of my team was running back across the court.

Huh? What just happened? I looked around stupidly, trying to figure out what went wrong as I ran back to guard their center. I didn't dare meet my coach's or teammates' eyes. Their center had the ball and I immediately tried to focus back on the game. I felt a instant onset of greed and I lunged wildly. I _had _to get that ball. Just as suddenly, I was calm. He passed it and looked at me warily. I really couldn't blame him, I was all over the place.

It wasn't until I unenthusiastically tried to gain possession of a rebound that I heard two loud guffaws that would no doubt be laughing _with_ me or _at_ me for all eternity. Fucking Emmett and Jasper! You've got to be kidding me! _This_ is what those assholes were whispering about before the game? I could _burn_ them! There was only a minute left in the half and I chanced a look at my coach. He didn't look angry, like I expected, just shocked. He made a small motion towards the bench, but it was more of a question than a command. I nodded, dejectedly. Those _assholes!_

I spent all of halftime ignoring the pep talk and locker room stares, while I focused on telling those vampire hicks off through Edward. The rest of the game passed uneventfully and I continued to under-perform, which was much harder after I felt guilty over my empath-induced craziness. It was quite a fall for their star player in the biggest game of the season.

Some of my teammates took the loss harder than others and there were a lot of cold shoulders directed my way as we showered and changed back into our street clothes. At least Brian was understanding, and he clapped me on the shoulder as he left the locker room to look for Carrie.

I ended up walking out with Justin, the guy who was usually attached to a cheerleader's face. I was surprised that he started a conversation with me, until I heard what he had to say. "So, those are your roommates?"

I should have known everybody would notice them. "Yeah. Why?"

"You think you can introduce me to that blond?"

"He's taken." I couldn't help it, I had to make him work a little for it.

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, would you do it?"

I thought about it for a minute. It would probably piss Blondie off...good enough for me. Unless.... I shared my idea with Edward and told him to get Jasper in on it. _Remind him that he owes me after the shit he pulled earlier. _"Sure, man. Just take it easy on her. She doesn't look it, but she's really shy." I had to bite my lip to keep from grinning.

We had taken a couple steps outside and Nessie came barreling up to me, screaming my name. I made sure to bend over before she jumped unnaturally high to get into my arms. "Hey, Nessie." I kissed the cheek that didn't have face paint on it. She sent me a memory of her yelling at her uncles, earlier. "Thanks," I whispered.

I looked over at Jasper and Edward. Edward shrugged, but he played it off like he was just stuffing his hands into his pant pockets. It was Jasper that nodded slowly. At the exact same time, Emmett took a step away from his wife. He suddenly looked extremely disinterested in anything going on around him. Perfect.

Justin and I stopped a few steps away from my family. He didn't look as unnerved as humans were supposed to look around them. I wonder if Jasper was helping him with that. "Everyone, this is Justin. Justin this is Nessie," I shook her in my arms and she shot him a grin. He grinned back. I pointed at everyone as I went down the line. "My uncle and aunt, Carlisle and Esme...my best friend, Bella...my _cousin_," we both winced, "Edward...Jasper and his girlfriend, Alice...Emmett...and._..Rosalie_." He nodded politely at everyone until he got to Rosalie.

He flashed her a smile and took a step towards her. "Rosalie, was it?" She nodded, shyly and my jaw dropped open. Mine wasn't the only one, though. Everyone except for Edward, Jasper, and Emmett looked suddenly taken aback. Edward and Jasper were trying not to laugh and Emmett still looked dazed. "A beautiful name, for a beautiful girl." Oh my god. I had _never _heard Justin be that cheesy before, was that Jasper, too? My shock was temporarily overshot by the sheer hilarity of seeing Rosalie shyly hide a giggle behind her hand.

Justin's ride called him over then from across the parking lot, he gave one last beaming smile to Rosalie before he turned to me and whispered, "You're giving me her number." My teeth were practically drawing blood from my lip, but I managed to keep my laugh in as I nodded earnestly at him. Nessie muffled her laugh by burying her head into my neck. Justin turned back to the Cullens. "It was nice meeting you." He said the last word directly to Rose before winking at her and turning to run towards the rest of his friends.

Jasper waited until the car Justin had turned the corner, before he released his hold on Blondie and Emmett. The rest of us were already in hysterics. Emmett took it better than his wife. After a few calming breaths, he admitted that it was a well-played, well-deserved prank and laughed along with us. The only thing I could do to ensure my safety from her aunt was keep Nessie attached to me as a shield. I drove home with her in the seat next to me, ate dinner with her on my lap, and held her extra close to me as we slept. Something tells me that Blondie holds grudges.

***

I had never loved Emmett more than when he talked everyone into going down to Mexico for Spring Break. Jasper and Alice were on board, immediately. Knowing what Jasper could do with my drunkenness, they were curious to see what he could do with a whole resort-town's. Surprisingly, Bella was actually curious about what went on at a real college Spring Break locale. I think she was just finally confident that she wouldn't trip over her own feet on the dance floor. Emmett used the give-Bella-every-college-experience card until Edward was actually considering it. In the end, Edward, Bella, and Rosalie all had the same hang-up: Renesmee.

When they finally approached Nessie to tell her about their plans, they had already decided that she would stay home with me, Carlisle and Esme, who had no interest in the drunken Spring Break scene. The thing was, I had kinda promised the pack I would be back in town for the week. I shirked my responsibilities enough as it was and I liked them being able to count on me to do some shitty early morning patrols when I could. So, with some of Nessie's persuasion, Edward had agreed to let me take her to La Push by myself. Edward hadn't been too happy about his daughter spending a week in a house full of werewolves, but had agreed that it would be better than leaving her alone when I ran my shifts. I was just grateful that I wouldn't have to spend a week of nights sleeping in wolf form at the foot of Nessie's bed.

The house had become the best thing that had ever happened to the packs. The two groups had never been close, mostly because Sam and I weren't close, but now that home base for both was in the same place, that was changing. Everybody, including Leah, had already had their Spring Break, but the house was never empty the week we were there. From breakfast through dinnertime, it was packed with overgrown bodies wrestling for the remote, fighting over the last Pop-Tart, and throwing a football in perfect spirals at inhuman speed from room to room. The new wolves, who weren't so new anymore, had become friends with my pack and I had become the outsider. Even the imprints were comfortable hanging out there and a couple of times I walked in on Jared and Kim and even Paul and my sister making out on the same couch I would pull out that night to sleep on. I had never felt so out of the loop before.

I _was_ glad to see that a lot of the old issues were being put to rest, though, and I knew Embry was the cause of it. He had finally lifted the ban on wolves phasing in front of their imprints, he had come up with a patrol schedule with Leah so that my guys didn't run solo or as often, and he had even brought some of the guys around on the Cullens. The last one was made obvious when Nessie was treated just as nicely as the rest of the imprints, a complete 180 than how some had treated her at the beach on the 4th. Leah even let her use her bathroom.

We got into a routine quickly after our first weekend of catching up with everyone. Sam, who would continue phasing until the end of the summer, and Jared did the graveyard shifts, while the younger guys did the afternoon and evening shifts after school. I decided to take over the shifts everyone else tries to worm their way out of, the three to nine shift in the mornings. It was hated because it meant waking up in the middle of the night, or running exhausted after a long day before passing out. For me, it meant keeping up with my normal schedule, as three in the morning in La Push was six in the morning in Hanover.

Nessie, who was back on her four-hours-a-night sleep schedule, would fall asleep with me once the house had quieted down for the night, and then wake up before me and study until I had to run my patrols. Seth was surprised that Edward let us sleep in the same bed, and I think it was a little weird for everyone else to see it, at first, too. She would always have breakfast waiting for me when I got up and I was surprised that she knew how to cook so well. She shrugged when I told her and she had explained that she usually helped Esme and Bella with my meals before I got home.

Either way, it made her a big hit in the house. In the mornings, she made breakfast for Leah, Seth, Quil, and Embry before they went to school. Then, she made lunch for me at nine in the morning, after I ran my shift, because my body thought it was noon. After everyone got home from school, she made a late lunch for the guys who ran patrols at night and an early dinner for the guys who ran patrols in the afternoon. At night, Emily would come over and help make dinner for everyone. I wasn't sure if it was to spend time with Nessie or because she missed cooking for twenty. I was fine with her cooking if she wanted to, until some of the guys started putting in orders, like it was a goddamn diner or something. Then, I had to remind everyone that Nessie was my imprint, not some short-order cook at their disposal. Nessie didn't seem to mind, but still. I hated to think that she was doing it so that the guys would like her.

She had also taken on the role as tutor of the house, helping with everything from a report on the Napoleonic Wars to geometry homework. Some guys would even sit with a dictionary and quiz her on the words they had never heard of. They were amazed every time she got the spelling and definition right and she would unknowingly blow their minds when she would casually explain to them which Latin and Greek words they were derived from.

At first, she was wary of using her powers around them, but after she began fitting in more and more, she didn't hold herself back. She shared the memory of one of Quil's jokes with the wolves back from a patrol who had missed it, sent a wave of disgust to a cigarette-smoking Leah to everyone's amusement, and calmed down two shaking wolves about to get into it. Then there were requests. Seth told her to send waves of lethargy to Jared and Kim who were starting to make out against the side of the house, while the rest of us watched and tried to hold in our laughs from a window. She helped Jared win at cards, mostly to make up for her last prank, by peeking at everyone else's hands and then showing him what she saw. She even buttered up Leah with some understanding for Embry so that she'd let him borrow her car and he could take Brianna to see a movie. When someone dared her to throw some anger at Paul, I had to draw the line.

On the first Sunday we were there, we came back from hunting and some of the young guys asked where we'd been. Their eyes went wide when we told them and they begged us to take them with us the next time we went. It seemed like nothing this girl did could ever cease to amaze them. Not that I could blame them. So, a few days later, after the guys got back from school, six of them trailed after us as we went into the trees and she rode on my back so that the wolves wouldn't have to slow down. As we neared a herd of deer, she jumped off and motioned for us to hang back as she stalked her prey. In one quick movement, she was on the largest buck's back and his neck was hanging limply to one side. As she began to feed, I turned back to see the expression on Seth's wolf-face having heard the shock in his thoughts. It had been a while since he'd seen her hunt and she had become better at it after all her training with Jasper. While I ate the remains of her meal, some of the other guys phased back. They all had matching looks of awe and disbelief. I was afraid they would see her more like one of their natural enemies once they saw her drinking blood, but I was wrong. They treated her with something close to reverence after that. The looks they shot me gave me was a little ego boost, too. I know, guys, my imprint kicks ass...literally.

On Saturday, I had the talk with Embry that I had been expecting since the first day we got back. We sat on the porch steps at night, half listening to the steam being blown off after a long week, inside, confident that no one cared enough to pay attention to our talk. I told him about the progress I thought he'd already made with the packs, how they seemed to be working together, and how they seemed closer to each other. "This seems to be working out." I pointed a thumb behind me.

He chuckled as he nodded. "Not everyone in town thinks so." I wrinkled my forehead at him, confused. "People are starting to talk about it. They think that Sue is crazy for letting a bunch of teenagers overrun her house." I laughed and he tried to hold his in as he said, "It's not funny, man, they think we're some sort of _gang_ or something."

I laughed harder at that. "_I_ used to think you guys were some sort of gang, or something." He raised his eyebrows. "What? You guys looked like you were on steroids as you jumped off of the highest cliffs and threatened drug dealers. What was I supposed to think?" He shrugged in agreement. "What does Sue think?"

"Nothing, really. No one's stupid enough to pick a fight with her, though. Everyone on the council..." He looked at me, quickly, trying to gauge my mood before moving on. I wasn't stupid, I knew that that was his way of telling me that he'd been speaking to our father. I also knew that that topic was going to be at least some part of this conversation. I'd wait a little longer to get into it. We should talk about pack business first, before we got into our personal stuff. "...think it's just regular town gossip. They're telling us to ignore it. Some kids at school are talking about it, too. For completely different reasons, though. Half of us have been hit up with requests to have keggers here."

I laughed. "I'm sure Sam loved that."

"Yeah," he laughed out and then shrugged. "He thinks I've been a little lax with the rules around here."

My jaw dropped. "He told you that?" That didn't seem like Sam.

"Nah." Embry shook his head. "I just know." He tapped his forehead. _Ah. _Has it been so long that I've forgotten the basics of pack life? Guess so.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Em. From what I've seen," I motioned my head towards the door, "everything has gotten a lot better around here."

"Thanks, bro."

We were silent for a few minutes, listening to Brady tell a joke that I hoped Nessie wouldn't understand. Her laugh joined the others, though, and I sighed. I blame Emmett. "How's Brianna."

Embry let out a short, quick breath, and there was a huge smile on his face. "Great. Really great. She's the smartest in her class and she's really nice. She's shy, though, but the few friends she has really like me. I wish I could see her more, she just lives so far away. I really feel for Quil now. I freak out a lot, though, you know? I wasn't really expecting that with the whole imprinting thing. Over really stupid things, too. I get these crazy ideas in my head, like, what if someone is mean to her at school? I know how bitchy girls in high school are and she's just in her first year there.

"Then there's the fact that I'm still too freaked out to phase in front of her. It's not like she doesn't know what we are, I just don't like thinking about losing control near her. I mean, I've seen you when you phase, bro. You're like a machine." I opened my mouth to cut him off. I know my control is impressive, I just think that sometimes they make _too_ big of a deal about it. Like maybe it's _not_ such a great thing. "Seriously, bro, one minute you're just standing there and the next your a wolf. It's not like that for the rest of us. I can't just do it, I have to go to not-such-a-great-place in my head to phase and then I have to really calm myself down to phase back. I just don't think I want her to see me like that." I nodded like I understood. We both knew that I didn't.

He went on. "Then there are more serious things, too. Like, what if her parents find out about me and won't let her see me? I mean, I'm lucky that kiss only got back to _my_ mom. I don't like the whole sneaking around thing. I want to do it right for her, you know? It's just kind of impossible right now. Thankfully, our cousins are cool with the whole thing and they cover for us a lot. Like the other night, when we went to a movie, her parents think that she was out with her cousins. It makes me nervous to lie to them, though, you know?"

"Tell me about it. Get back to me when her dad can read minds."

He laughed. "Yeah, bro. I can't imagine how much that sucks." He smiled at that for a while. "Hey, at least he knows about the whole thing, though. He has to at least be somewhat okay with it, too, to let you move with them and stick around and everything."

"Yeah, but you at least can date Brianna for a while before pulling the whole soul mate thing on her parents. Plus, you know, I use to think _things_ about Bella, to goad him. If it pissed him off when it was his girlfriend, imagine what it's going to be like when it's his daughter?"

He sucked in a breath while he shook his head, laughing a little. "Don't know what to tell you, bro." I just nodded. I had resigned myself to my fate a long time ago. At the end of the day, as long as I was able to be with Nessie, anything was worth dealing with. Embry's expression turned serious, again. "I freak out about her safety more than anything, though" He turned to look me in the eye more squarely. "I need your advice about something." I nodded and motioned for him to go on. "Hypothetically...if you had imprinted on Bella..." I gave him a look, like _where are you going with this?_ He rushed on. "_Hypothetically._ If, a couple of years ago you had imprinted on Bella and you had the authority to change the patrol routes, would you make sure we ran past her house?"

"Hell yeah! I probably would have sat under her window all night, too! I mean, you remember how it was when Victoria was after her. Why?" He looked at me like it was obvious. Huh? Oh. _Oh._ "You want our guys to patrol the Makah rez, _too?_" That must not have been the response he wanted, because his head dropped down and he stared at the ground. "Sorry, bro. Just...give me a sec. Let me think about this." I could definitely see where he was coming from with all of this as a fellow wolf, but as an Alpha...I just don't know. I mean, Neah Bay was a run from here, then to actually patrol up there and run back? "Every day?" Embry just shrugged, obviously questioning whether or not he should have brought this up to me. "C'mon, bro, you asked for my advice. Did you want it to be an everyday thing?"

"I don't know...I mean..." He took a deep breath and then let it out in a resolved sigh, still staring at his feet. "Yeah."

I leaned back, trying to think about how to make it work. We owed it to our brothers to help them protect their imprints. I should know, I've asked them to face death twice for my girls. "Well, it would have to be a long shift, because it wouldn't be worth it to go all that way, just to have someone else come all the way back." His head popped up when he saw that I was actually considering it. "And it would have to just be a one-man job, and I'm guessing that one man would be you." He nodded quickly, in agreement. "I just don't see how you're going to be able to do it every day, with school and everything. I mean, I think they could handle you being out of the regular rotation, so I don't think that's a problem. There just aren't enough hours in the day." His head dropped again. "But if you wanted to do it...maybe you could run half the perimeter at night, sleep near her house, and then run the other half in the morning before coming home." He nodded, slowly. "You'd need to hunt to do it, even if you eat dinner before you go and come back in time for breakfast. I've run those distances before, it can kill you. Not only do you have to do the trip there and back, you're going to have to run the whole perimeter on your own, with spokes and everything."

He ignored the drawbacks, waiting for a pause in my speech. "But you think I could do it?"

"How about I go up with you tomorrow morning before I have to leave and we figure something out?"

The gratitude was practically leaking out of him. Things had gotten even noisier inside and someone had turned on some music. "This is nice, bro. You guys are lucky that you get to do this every day."

He knew what I was talking about and he smiled as he nodded. "I know." He turned towards me. "Do you miss home?"

"Would it be lame to say that home is where Nessie is?" He smirked, but shook his head. "I don't know. I miss you guys...Rachel...Charlie and Sue..."

"And Billy?" Ah. Here it comes.

"Have you been talking to him?"

"I have to, as Alpha, you know?"

I knew he had to go to the council meetings and I knew he would probably end up talking to Billy, I just didn't want to have this conversation. So, I feigned surprise. "Oh, yeah." Your turn, again, Em.

"He told me everything. About him and my mom, I mean." I kept quiet. "We're not cool, yet, but I think we're working on it." I didn't know what to say about that. "He and Rachel are doing better, too." Silence. "I just think he misses you, is all."

_That_ pissed me off. "Really? You're really going to sit her and tell me I should talk to him?" He shrugged. "Look, I'm glad you and Rach can work things out with him. I just can't. And more than that, I just don't want to."

He held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, bro. I was just saying..." But he didn't finish his sentence and I didn't have anything to add to the conversation.

"You know, you can probably get Quil to trade off with you every other day up there, he'd want to run patrols for Claire, too. We should take him with us tomorrow." It was obvious that I was changing the subject, but Embry didn't seem to care, as long as I wasn't pissed at him and wasn't going back out on my promise to help him in the morning.

Nessie and I hunted that night as soon as Embry's pack started heading home and my pack began heading up to their bedrooms. She knew we'd only have a few hours in La Push tomorrow and she told me that she didn't want to waste any time hunting, especially when she loved running at night. It was quiet by the time we got back and I pulled out the bed from beneath the couch cushions and took out the bedding from the closet while she changed upstairs in Leah's bathroom. I had been wearing sweats all day, they were cashmere and weren't cut-offs but they were the closest thing I had to a normal wolf uniform these days, so I just took off my shirt, fixed the bed, and got under the sheets to wait for her.

I let my mind drift back over the past week. This really was a different pack lifestyle. Who knew we just needed a clubhouse? It had been nice to see Nessie so at ease with everyone, too. In the back of my mind, I had always dreaded that my wolf family would never really accept my imprint. I guess I had always dreaded that Billy wouldn't accept his future daughter-in-law.

_Billy._ Ugh. That really was a shit situation. I didn't know what either of us could do to rectify that relationship. I would always be pissed off that he lied to me for my entire life. He would always be the man that betrayed my mother. Hell, he had betrayed all of us. For some reason, though, my mother having to deal with that in the last years of her short life infuriated me beyond belief. I couldn't believe Embry and Rachel were being so accepting of this whole situation. Maybe it was harder to ignore him when you lived here. Still, I had managed a week living right next door to him without seeing him once.

Nessie flew down the stairs and jumped into bed. She kissed me on the forehead and then snuggled her back into my chest, sighing contentedly. It was my favorite part of the day, when everything was quiet and I just got to hold her. The one day I hadn't ran an early patrol and I had woken up while the guys were eating breakfast, Nessie had climbed back into bed with me, curling herself around me as she listened to her iPhone. I had caught the jealousy in Quil's eyes when I had pulled her towards me, my eyes still half-closed, my brain only half-awake. I had kissed her cheek and whispered, "Good morning." I couldn't blame him. I don't remember what it was like to not fall asleep and wake up in bed next to her and I don't want to.

"Nessie?" She hmm'd. "I have to go with Embry tomorrow morning up to Neah Bay." She sent me an image of herself giving me an okay sign. I laughed. "I know you wanted to see Charlie. Do you want Seth to drive you over there and I'll meet up with you guys when I get back?"

"Okay, Jacob."

Her voice was sleepy and I kissed the back of her head. "We can figure it out tomorrow. Go to sleep, honey."

She was silent for a while until she said in a much clearer voice, "I like your brothers, Jacob." I smiled. I was glad. She certainly seemed to fit in a little better around here than just another imprint. She could hold her own with them and I think they respected that. "I like the way you are around them." Hmm. What did that mean? I didn't have time to think about that too much before she threw a hard question at me. "Will you ever want to move back here?"

That reminded me of Embry's question from earlier. _Did _I miss home? I liked the independence that came with going to school on my own. As guilty as I felt about putting off some of my responsibilities, I did like the fact that I didn't have to share Nessie with everyone all day back in Hanover, like I did here. And I _had_ grown to love the Cullens like my own family. Still...whenever an errant thought of my wedding with Nessie popped into my head, we were always here. Whenever I saw myself playing in the woods with our kids, it was here. Sure, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett would be my kids' aunts and uncles, but they'd be their _great- _aunts and uncles. Regardless of the Cullens' never-changing ages, _my_ brothers and sisters, my kids' _real_ aunts and uncles were all here.

I realized I hadn't answered Nessie's question out loud. "I think so, Nessie. Maybe not sometime soon, but someday." She turned over so that our noses were practically touching on our shared pillow. I couldn't help it, I had to give her an Eskimo kiss. She gave me a grin in return. Fair trade. "Would you want to live here?" Maybe I shouldn't have, but I put it out there.

She closed her eyes a little and smiled before she nodded. "I like it here, it reminds me of home." I nodded, she was right. Not like La Push when I was a kid, but like the feeling I got when I was in bed with her in Hanover. In fact, I had half a mind to peek over her shoulder to see if there was a huge glass window-wall behind her. "Yeah, but not just now, either." She must have been reading the thoughts that were passing through me. To try and make a point, she sent me images of the days we had spent here. She was cooking while Quil told her stupid jokes and made her almost drop an eggshell in the batter...she tried to help Brady with his homework but Collin kept throwing popcorn for him to catch in his mouth...she peeked out the window while I was talking to Embry and saw us laughing...she washed while Leah dried the dishes. "They're your family, they're your brothers, you fit here."

I pressed the tip of her nose. "You fit here, too, you know. Kinda like I fit with your family."

She smiled broadly. "I know."

* * *

_Author's Note: _Pop-Tarts is a registered trademark of the Kellogg Company. iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple Computers. The Wolf-Pack is all mine!


	10. Book One: Part Ten

_Author's Note: _I just wanted to thank everyone who wrote me a private message or a review. Of course, I haven't forgotten about this story. It's haunted too many of my waking and unconscious dreams for me to not see it through to the end.

Just so you know, and can plan accordingly, this is an _epic_ chapter, as my husband has taken to calling it. He might not be wrong about that, either, as it weighs in at a whopping _38,000+ words_. I have absolutely no idea how long it would take to read, considering I'm in too much of a hurry to post to read it all from beginning to end. I'm guessing hours?

I apologize again for the the long time between posts, it's at six or seven weeks, now. Between moving and the summer, the world not occupied by werewolves and vampires has been stressful. But, I've set up a new place to write here in our new apartment, and it seems to be working for me. It only took me eight days to write this, which seems incredible to me now, on this side of it, but felt completely natural to me at the time. I'm not sure if it's the new digs or just the amazingly interesting place we're at in the story that has been my inspiration. I hope it doesn't fail me for next week's update, though. I doubt it will as I am itching to try my hand at Book Two. You can address any thank you's to my husband who would yell at me to keep writing if he saw me lazily puttering around because he, too, was impatient to find out what would happened to Jacob and Renesmee next.

It took me a week of non-writing for me to figure out why I couldn't seem to start this part when I realized...we have reached _the end_ of Book One. The length, I think, is due largely to the need to wrap up loose ends and set up new threads. It takes place within five days, from beginning to end, but covers so much ground that I hope it's not exhausting to keep up. Book Two will continue along under the same story, so there's no need to go looking for another one on my profile. When I first imagined the end of the first book, the ultimate ending was the same, but how we actually get there compared to how I thought we would, couldn't be any more different.

I sincerely hope you like it.

_Stephenie Meyer:_ Your books, out-takes, and extras have become somewhat of reference works to me since I've started writing this story. Every time I go back to reread a scene or fact-check a point, however, I find that an hour and a half has gone by and I have completely forgotten why I needed to pick up the book in the first place. It is truly a testament to the characters, plots, and sub-plots you've created and fully own that so many of us want to stay in your world a little bit longer, even if it means reading and writing what can only, _very_ _generously,_ be considered inferior works when compared to your originals. Thank you, again.

* * *

***_  
**So we've been selected in this beautiful lottery.  
****...  
It's starting to surface, all golden and god-like,  
this feeling we had every day and every night.  
It b**__**ursts in an energy. A door it is opening.**_

--Bright Eyes  
_Blue Angels Air Show_  
***

I woke up at four in the morning on the day of my high school graduation and couldn't go back to sleep. Nessie was still asleep at my side. After a raw dinner from our night hunt, I had ended up dozing off in bed with the TV on until she had climbed in beside me around one. Her aunts had kept her up trying on outfits for today. I rolled over, checking the time and realized I still had a few hours before I had to be at school. They were making us go through a rehearsal at eight and, in an attempt to make sure everyone showed up, they were holding our maroon vinyl robes as collateral. Little did they know that this was no threat for me. When I had told Alice that I would be getting my gown hours before the ceremony, she had thrown a fit. Apparently, she had wanted the robe dry-cleaned before I wore it. So, she had taken the order form the school had given me that I had dutifully written my height on and had called the company. Two weeks ago, they shipped a maroon robe that would match my classmates', except mine wouldn't smell like the plastic it came wrapped in. The one I would get in a few hours would probably stay in its packaging forever.

I took the opportunity to watch Nessie sleep. I could no longer spy on her dreams, now that she had her shield, but it was still nice to just take her in when she was completely relaxed and vulnerable. Such a large part of imprinting is becoming our imprints' protectors and I don't get to feel that way a lot towards Nessie. She still practices with her fighting and with her powers and she's getting stronger and stronger in both. Aside from that, she lives a pretty sheltered existence within the four walls of the house and the few miles of woods where she hunts and runs. It placates my ego that when she's asleep and defenseless, it's _my_ neck she's clinging to, it's _my_ arm she's under, it's _my _pillow she's sharing. I picked her up as gently as I could and placed her on my chest, tucking her head underneath my chin and holding her to me. I remembered how the rise and fall of my chest, my heat, and my heartbeat used to lull her when she was little. I've always loved that I was much more comfortable than that the cold, hard bodies of her family and that she always fell asleep fastest when I held her.

I listened to her breathing and thought about the night and all that I had planned. I wasn't nervous about graduation, I was nervous about the party afterwards. I had talked to Alice after Spring Break about my money, this time a little more prepared for the number she quoted me. I admit, I had still picked her up and twirled her in the air a few times, though. I had a couple of graduation surprises that I wanted to finance and she had helped me with them. This time, when I walked into the packs' house, I would be carrying a flat-screen and an Xbox. I was planning on getting a Wii, too, but Emmett told me that they don't work well with our speed and strength. So, after Nessie introduced me to the wonders of online shopping, I ordered the console, two dozen games, the DVD remote, memory cards, and tons of extra controllers and had it all shipped to the mansion in Forks.

I had also decided to take my Rabbit back to La Push. I hadn't given Sam and Emily a wedding gift and I figured they would need it to get back and forth from Seattle. A few months ago, I had realized the waste of having an extra car just taking up space in the garage. At first, I had thought of giving it to Embry so that he could take Brianna out, or at least see her more often. I know he has a dirt bike, even though I haven't seen it in a while and don't really know what condition it's in, but he wouldn't make it up to the Makah rez on it. Then, I had thought of Quil. He could use transportation up to Neah Bay just as much as Embry. As a compromise, I had thought of "donating" it to the packs' house, so that whoever wanted to use it, could. But then, I had remembered about Sam and Emily. I knew that they could get people to move them in, but they would be stuck in the city once they were there and I knew that they would both hate not seeing everyone back at home. Besides, the wolves could pretty much run wherever they needed to go. I had spent a few weeks and two hundred dollars tracking down and installing better parts for some things that probably should've been upgraded at the time, but I hadn't had the money. I had talked to Carlisle about it and had made sure that they would have somewhere to park it at their place in the city, he also helped me make arrangements for it to be shipped back to La Push tomorrow morning before we flew back, ourselves.

My biggest surprise was in the form of a check made out to Carlisle, a complete reimbursement of every month's allowance, including June's. I had it in an envelope in my Wolf Pack. Alice had transferred some of my money into the account he and Edward had set up for me in August and kept the rest in my investments. I was financially solvent and I wanted to repay Carlisle for the start he had given me in the only way I could. In the fall, I would start making my own money, though I wouldn't complain when Alice kept making more for me, and I was relishing in my independence. As I lay there, with Nessie dozing on top of me, I thought of everything I wanted to tell Carlisle at my party tonight when I gave him the check.

An hour later, Nessie woke up. She looked surprised to find herself sprawled out on top of me. "Hey, you." She just looked up at me and smiled before plopping her head back down. She didn't move off of me and I hoped that meant that she didn't want out of my arms anymore than I wanted her out of them. "You want to watch some TV? It's still early." She shook her head against me and sent me an image of the time. She was questioning why I was up. Though she spoke more now than ever, she was _not_ a morning person and it wasn't abnormal for her to stay mute the first hour or so after she woke up. No one ever really noticed, because she usually didn't go down to see the family until I did, a few hours later. "Couldn't sleep anymore. Plus, I was napping while you and your aunts were playing dress-up last night." She growled, softly. She and Alice hated when I called it "playing dress-up" because they had said that it was serious work and that I was "trivializing the effort that went into it." Or, at least, Alice had, Nessie had just nodded seriously beside her. They had both had their arms crossed over their chests and when I had laughed, I had gotten kicked out of Nessie's room.

I laughed and she growled, again. I decided to make it up to her. "Wanna pick out what I'm wearing under the robe?" Silence. "I'll even let you pick out what I wear to the rehearsal." She shrugged and I laughed. I held her to me and got off the bed. She sighed and wrapped her legs around my torso. Hmm. Maybe she was just afraid she'd have to get off of me. I smiled as I walked us into the closet. I didn't turn on the light because neither of us needed it and I didn't think Nessie would have appreciated it that soon after waking up.

"Am I wearing a suit?" I walked over to the garment bags they hung in. She shook her head and showed me taking the pants out of the bag, but not the jacket. "Which ones?" She lifted her head and looked back and forth at them. Without answering me, she turned her head and looked at my dress shirts and the tie I had hanging on the door. Alice had bought me the tie as soon as she had seen my robe. It was maroon with alternating white and gray stripes. Finally, she showed me the gray dress pants, a dress shirt in the same color, and the tie. "Gray, huh?" She nodded. "But shouldn't I wear a white-collared shirt?" She raised her head up at me and glared. "Okay, I was just asking!" I walked over to the suits. "Hold on." Her grip on me tightened and my hands were free to unzip the bag and take out the pants. Then, I pulled the shirt and its hanger off the rack and hung them both on the hook beside the tie on the door.

I had to fight her on the maroon polo and light khaki pants she wanted me to wear to the rehearsal. "Nessie, I'm not going to wear the school colors. I'll look like a dork. Besides, I'm thinking of riding my bike over there and these pants would get filthy." She compromised with a white polo and dark jean shorts. I rolled my eyes when she picked out a white top, the other school color, but didn't complain.

When we got back into my room the sun was coming up. I sat us on the edge of the bed and my stomach growled. She giggled. You think she'd be used to that by now. "You're just jealous because your stomach never does." She leaned back so I could see her rolling her eyes at me. "Whatever. I'm going to go shower." I stood up and tossed her in the air. She could have spun and landed on her feet, but she fell to the bed on her back, bouncing and giggling.

By the time I got downstairs, Esme and Nessie were finishing up with my breakfast. I kissed each of them on the cheek and made my way over to get the orange juice out of the fridge. My newest report card was under a La Push souvenir magnet that Nessie had made me buy her during Spring Break. Embry was working in the store at the time and had rolled his eyes at me when Nessie had plopped it down on the counter with a grin. I turned to Esme. "My report card came yesterday?" She nodded, grinning, and I turned back. A...A...A...A...A. No shit! I got straight-A's?

Esme came over and gave me a hug. "Carlisle and I are so proud of you!"

I stared at the report card, again. I got straight-A's? I hadn't gotten straight-A's since the third grade._ How?_ Nessie. She had a big grin on her camera-hidden face. Probably the same one I had on mine. I guess I would find out when I saw the picture she had just taken. I held out my arms and she put down her camera to jump into them.

"Congratulations, Jacob!"

I buried my head in her hair. "Thanks, Nessie. I couldn't've done it without you."

I slowly became aware of everyone else in the kitchen. I got hugs from Bella, Alice, and even Carlisle while Edward, Jasper, and Emmett slapped me on the back and shook my hand. Blondie wasn't around, but I wasn't hurt about it. Everyone congratulated me and told me how proud they were. As quickly as they had come in, they were all gone and I finished my breakfast. Nessie began flitting around, taking pictures of my report card and me and my plate while I ate. I smiled as she snapped on a new lens and began taking the same shots over again. I thought back to the night about a week ago when this new hobby of hers had begun.

Nessie and I had been eating our dinner at the dining room table while Edward speed-washed the dirty dishes in the kitchen. Alice had just finished the most recent photo album and Nessie decided that she wanted to look through all of them. We'd been sitting next to each other, sharing her earliest album while Bella and Alice and Rosalie and Esme sat across from us, paging through the other two. We had sat in companionable silence, looking over proof of Nessie's aging and the rest of our unchanging faces. It had been a nice break from the non-stop finals cram schedule that Nessie had had me on all week.

Nessie had pet the image of my face through the clear plastic with a lopsided grin as I stuffed my face and tried not to get anything on the book. "Your hair was so long." I hadn't been holding her in the photo, in fact, I was pretty close to being cut out of the shot. I'd remembered when the picture was taken, back before the threat of the Volturi, when the imprinting compulsion was still new. It was around the time she started walking and I was always following a few steps behind, careful not to get her sick of me, careful not to step on Bella and Edward's toes. My _old_ point-of-view had seemed ridiculous to me as I sat in the midst of my _new_ normal.

"That reminds me, Jacob." I had looked over the table at Alice. "You need a trim before graduation." She'd looked thoughtful. "I'm thinking of giving you a new look for the summer." I hadn't bothered saying anything, I just nodded. Alice was going to do with my hair whatever the hell she _wanted_ to do with my hair.

I had watched my hair grow longer and longer as Nessie flipped the pages of the book, stopping every few minutes to put another bite in her mouth. I had mused that Nessie's hair seemed to stay the same length. As it continued to grow, so did her torso, so that her hair always hit the top of her lower back. I had been trying and failing _not_ to notice the hard look our faces had taken on as the end of the year approached when Edward joined us at the table. He stood behind his wife and smiled at the Nessies frozen in time.

"Daddy?" She'd called around a mouthful of food. Bella had quickly scolded her daughter, telling her that she shouldn't speak with her mouth full. Edward and I had had a hard time keeping our amusement off of our faces. We'd known that she would sense it from us, anyway. What was usually a disgusting habit, Nessie somehow managed to make look endearing. She had made a show of swallowing as she looked at her mother. Bella had given her a hard look and Edward had directed his daughter's attention back at him to keep the peace. Nessie had smiled widely and asked, "Can I have a camera?"

Bella had suddenly lifted her head, letting out an "oh," and streaked out the kitchen door. I would have wondered where she'd gone, but it had taken me a second to realize why I was taken aback by Nessie's request...I had never heard her _ask_ for anything. Sure, there were small things here and there, but mostly she asked for permission: to hunt or go for a run with me, to borrow a book from Carlisle's library, or to ride our bikes up and down the driveway. Never, though, had I heard her ask for something..._expensive_. I had understood immediately, though, that she had really never had to. Edward had set up accounts for her online to buy books and DVDs from Amazon and music from iTunes. Hell, she even had half a dozen credit cards to the clothing stores and department stores that she ordered from the most often. And that's when it had really hit me, the _real_ reason that she had never truly had had to _ask_ for anything...Edward had always been able to know what she wanted the second she had remotely entertained the idea.

Bella had returned to the table with a triumphant grin on her face. "Here, Nessie. I'm glad I kept this." She'd placed an old, black camera on the table in front of her daughter. Nessie had looked around the table before picking it up. Rosalie and Esme had had their eyes fixed on the pictures in between them and Alice had shook her head with a small smile. Edward had allowed himself to have a huge smirk on his face because Bella couldn't see him and he leaned down to kiss the top of his wife's head.

Nessie had already started turning it over in her hands. I hadn't understood Edward or Alice's reaction, so I went back to my food. I lifted my head when I heard Nessie ask, "Where's the screen?" Alice had let out a giggle while Bella just looked confused. "And what's this?" She had found the latch to open up the back flap.

"That's for this film, honey." I had taken it from her hands. "See?" I had pointed out the rounded indent on one side of the opening. "The roll goes here and then the end of the film strip gets tucked in on the other side." I had closed the back and turned it over in my hands. "Cool. You don't even have to rewind it manually with this one. There's a flash, too. No zoom, though. Oh well." I had looked directly across from me at Bella. "Was this your camera? I don't remember you ever taking pictures."

Bella had smiled broadly at me. "Charlie gave it to me..." her smile had faded a little "...for one of my birthdays." I had been able to tell by the change in expression _exactly_ which birthday it had been. I nodded, understandingly.

Nessie had taken the camera from my hands. "Film? Do they even sell film for cameras anymore?"

Alice, Rosalie, and Edward all had had matching smirks on their faces, while Bella just looked put-out. "Of course they do. Besides," she had stuck out her chin a little as she folder her arms across her chest, "it's easier to develop film than to try and get prints of digital pictures."

That had been when I finally understood the joke I had been left out of. They were all such freaking _snobs_. "It's a good camera, Nessie." That had earned me a death stare and I knew that I had defended the wrong girl, so I went back to my food. The next day, Edward had come home with a five-thousand dollar digital Nikon along with extra lenses, rechargeable batteries, memory cards, and ten books on cameras and photography.

I finished my breakfast and put my dishes in the sink. Nessie felt the need to document this, too, just as she had felt the need to take pictures of _everything,_ no matter how boring, that had happened to her since she got the thing. If she had been more awake when we were picking out my clothes earlier, I have no doubt that her camera would have been in her hand. "What do you even _do_ with all these pictures, Nessie?"

She shrugged. "My dad," she didn't called him "Daddy" when she was talking to me, "bought me some pretty good photo editing software that I've been playing with. Yesterday he bought me a really nice printer and some photo paper, too."

I shook my head. "No, I mean, what are you going to _do_ with ten pictures of my half-eaten breakfast?"

"Well, I won't _delete_ them, if that's what you're asking."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "I haven't needed to, yet."

"Those memory cards aren't _full _yet?"

She nodded. "Oh, I've filled each of them a couple of times, but my Dad got my an external hard drive and that's nowhere _near_ being full, so..."

"What's an external hard drive?"

"It's just more memory for your computer, but it's self-contained and it's portable."

"And what happens when you fill that one up? Will you start deleting, then?"

"No." She looked offended. "I'll probably just get another one." I shook my head. Figures. "Come outside with me, I want to take pictures of the front of the house in the morning." She left the kitchen without bothering to see if I'd follow her or not. Because, really, what were the odds that I _wouldn't?_

As soon as we stepped out the front door I could smell fresh tracks from every Cullen leading towards the garage. "What's going on?" She was looking towards the garage, too, but I couldn't see her face. She shrugged and started walking towards the rest of her family. When I was finally able to see in, I couldn't believe it.

The prettiest motorcycle I had ever seen was sitting off to the side in the garage, a big red bow tied under its dash. "Congratulations, Jacob!" The Cullens chorused and echoed around me. I was shocked. It was obvious from its shape that it was a sports bike, but it wasn't until I got closer that I realized what they had done.

"You guys didn't!" The men grinned at me. I'll take that as a yes. I was the proud owner of what was, arguably, the nicest bike on the planet. "Ducati's Desmosedici? The street-legal one?" I hadn't recognized it at first because it was black. "I thought she only came in red."

"We wanted you to be color-coordinated." When Emmett snorted, Alice turned to glare at him. "Fine. _I_ wanted you to be color-coordinated." She grinned and held out a white box with a maroon ribbon tied in a huge, elaborate bow. Nessie jumped in front of me, snapping away pictures of my face, my bike, the box in Alice's hands. I took it and set it on the seat of the bike so I could open it. I worked the ribbon off the box and threw it so it went around Nessie's head and landed like a necklace. She giggled. Under the mounds of maroon tissue paper was a pure black racing suit.

"You guys!" I didn't even know what to say. Then I realized I hadn't thanked them, yet. "Thank you!"

Carlisle stepped forward and gripped the top of my arm. "You've earned it, Jacob. Two months ago, Alice got a vision of Esme posting your report card. We ordered this the next day. We're very proud of you, son, and everything you've accomplished. Never forget that."

His words meant a lot and I was even more determined to give him his surprise tonight at dinner. Edward cocked his head to the side and I stopped thinking about it. "Thanks, Carlisle. Thanks, everyone." I pointed a finger at Jasper. "We're racing, later."

He grinned, cockily. "Count on it. Winner gets bragging rights." That went without saying. "_And_ a slave for a day." _Ooh._ I looked over at his eight-four-eight. It's top speed was only about 160, but that's stock and Rosalie's had _years_ to supe it up. It was obvious that she hadn't started work on my Ducati, either. Aside from that, his reflexes are much better than mine in human form.

"Pssh," Emmett brushed us off. "I'll take both of you on..._without _a bike." We both ignored him, the only true way to piss Emmett off.

"So, are you in?" Esme and Bella shook their heads while the men, Alice, and Nessie were staring at me with rapt attention. I think the only reason Alice cared was because her husband was making a bet that she wouldn't know the outcome of.

What the hell. Edward laughed as I nodded. "Not a whole 24-day, though. I gotta sleep." I held out my hand and we shook on it. Nessie took a picture. "Now I just have to figure out whether I want you call me Master or Sir all day." I went to ruffle his hair but he slapped my hand away and growled.

I left for the rehearsal a little earlier than I needed to, just to test her out on the open road. I didn't wear my suit, though, and after wanting to take some of the turns at a near horizontal level, I decided I should when I raced Jasper, if I didn't want to leave half of my knees behind me.

I was not the only one who drove a new car into the parking lot at school and I guessed that there would only be more at the graduation ceremony itself. Did people really leave cars with bows on them in the parking lot like they did in the movies? The rehearsal was pointless and did nothing but ensure that we knew how to stand in a straight line once they put us in alphabetical order. I spent the time thinking about my new bike. It really was amazing, and it should be for the $72,500 price tag. I mean, the alloy wheels alone were worth $18,500. I _had_ to win that race with Jasper. I had no doubt that he would make me crawl on all-fours the entire day and fetch his slippers, just to get in a few good dog jokes. I also thought about the way I had handled getting such an expensive gift this time. I didn't have to remind myself to be gracious about it at all. Maybe all this time with the Cullens had made it easier and easier to accept gifts from them. Maybe it was the fact that I had enough money in the bank to buy one myself that allowed me to see it as just-another-gift, not a gift-costing-a-small-fortune. Finally, I thought of the new situation the bike presented me with. By the time they let us all leave, I had decided that an extra motorcycle was just as wasteful as an extra car. So, I decided to give my old Harley to Quil and Embry and have them share with the packs if they wanted. I just hoped that the shipping company would be able to take both the Rabbit and the bike when they came in the morning.

When I got home, I ate my lunch while Esme, Bella, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett all got ready to hunt. Carlisle had gotten called in to work, though Esme assured me that he would be back in time for the ceremony, and Edward was out "running errands." No one said any more about it than that and I hoped that he wasn't out getting me _another_ present. Jasper had hunted with Carlisle and Edward the night before, but, in an attempt to be as well-fed as possible before having to sit in a crowd of humans for a few hours, he was going to go on a short hunt while the rest made the hour-long trek up to the nature reserves. By staying close by, he ensured that Nessie wouldn't be alone if the rest of the family wasn't back from their hunt before I had to leave. As if their illogic behind a rehearsal in the morning wasn't bad enough, they wanted all the graduates to be there an hour before the ceremony. Thank god for the game apps I had on my iPhone.

***

Two hours after lunch, I was standing on the back deck in my wolf form with my nose and tail pointed straight out, trying not to move a muscle. Nessie was laying below me, poking me with her bony finger over and over again. She had already poked at my muscle groups and organs and had moved on to my skeletal system. As she went she mumbled under her breath in time to the jabs, her way of ticking each of my ribs off the list of bones she had memorized. Thankfully, she had blushed and been too embarrassed to check the sexual organs off her list.

I saw Jasper's outline in the woods long before he made it to the clearing behind the house. Once he was close enough to see what was going on, he stopped and laughed. He continued to the deck, smirking and walking very slowly. I hung my head without moving the rest of my body. Great. When Nessie had asked me to help her study, I had been confused, but had agreed. I had absolutely _no_ idea that it meant posing as a wolf for half an hour. It's not like I minded doing it, especially after she had helped me all through finals the week before. Still, I knew Jasper was going to tease me mercilessly for this.

"Hi, Uncle Jazz." She kept up her poking.

"Hello, Nessie. Were we putting on a dog show later that I didn't know about?" I rolled my wolf-eyes at him. "Uh oh, I'm sure you'll get deductions if you do that to the judges."

Nessie, the traitor, giggled. "Aw, leave him alone." She tried to defend me, but her obvious amusement killed her attempt. "I'm done, anyway, Jacob." She jumped to kiss me on the side of my snout. "Thank you."

I jumped off the deck as fast as I could, landing an inch in front of Jasper, bowing my head so that we met eye to eye. He stood perfectly still, obviously not impressed by my show of speed. "Go change, I don't want you to have a black eye in your graduation pictures." I licked the side of his face, just to piss him off, and then walked into the tree line to phase, barking out a laugh.

"Fucking dog," he muttered, wiping his face. When he knew Edward wasn't around, especially now that Nessie had her shield, he didn't hold his tongue around his niece. I had once heard him tell her that they were adult words and that he didn't want to hear them coming from her. He could be a hard-ass when he wanted and Nessie had been quick to promise him that she wouldn't repeat them.

I came back out barefoot in just the jean shorts I had worn earlier to find Jasper lounging on one of the deck chairs. Nessie was a few feet in front of him, sitting on the wooden perimeter railing. She swung her dangling legs as she spoke, animately. "What I find to be the most interesting part about their metamorphosis is that their human bodies seem to match up with their wolf bodies. If their front left paw is injured, their left hand will be, too. But the bone structure of a human is completely different than a wolf's. What happens to all the extra bones? Which turn into others and which disappear altogether? That's another thing..." She kicked at me and smiled as I walked in front of her and then turned her attention back to Jasper. I sat on the deck and leaned back against the nearest railing post to Nessie, stretching my legs out in front of me, enjoying her obvious fascination with what I can become. "What are the limitations of their healing powers? Can they regenerate a bone or a tooth if they were to lose or shatter one? Or is it a normal healing process that's just vastly accelerated? Really, there's no limit to what we need to learn about them. I've talked to my grandpa about it and he's as curious as I am. He's just a little preoccupied with learning everything about _me_, first."

"What's there to learn, Nessie?" I threw my closest hand into her face and wiggled my fingers around. "It's _magic_." She shot her head forward, playfully snapping her jaws an inch from my hand. I drew my hand away quickly, in mock fear, and then flicked her big toe. The nail on the toe had been painted, most likely by Alice, a deep red. I doubt it was an Edward-approved nail polish color. "Brat."

"Well, it's definitely an interesting line of study. Will you be focusing on the sciences when you resume your studies in the fall?"

She nodded and then shrugged. "The humanities seem to me to be a maze with tons of entry points. They're all interconnected, but you can only go so far in one field of study before you hit a dead-end and then you have to start all over again with another. The sciences are more straight-forward, they build on each other. It just seems like a better use of my time right now."

"That's fair. And you're obviously interested in it." She nodded again.

We were all silent after that. I had closed my eyes to the hazy, cloud-covered sky, but when the sun came out and a thousand bits of light hit my eyes, they opened involuntarily to look for the source. Jasper, sprawled out on the deck chair in what would be, to a human, a relaxing position, had his eyes closed and was sparkling. He had unbuttoned his shirt, as though sunbathing, and his scars were even more noticeable. The divots they formed in his skin caused the light to refract in odd direction.

"Uncle Jasper?" I looked at Nessie at the same time he did. "What are _real_ vampires like?"

At first I thought that she'd get a sarcastic answer to her question. I wasn't sure if questioning her uncle's status as a "real" vampire was the same as questioning his masculinity or something. Jasper had paused, but it was obvious that he _was_ going to answer her question and that he was just gathering his thoughts. "Well, I suppose that the most basic thing about us is that we're overly emotional, and I'm not just saying that because of my power, either. Our emotions are much stronger than humans' and they tend to overrun our decision-making process. Most vampires have a very hard time acting logically."

"Do you?"

He nodded, honestly. "Sometimes. It's harder for me than everyone else, because I don't just have to rein in my own emotions when I want to be objective." Nessie nodded in complete understanding. "It's easier for our family in general, though, to retain some semblance of levelheadedness because of the way we live."

"You mean, without drinking from humans?"

He sighed and raised his arms, lacing his fingers behind his head. The pose was familiar, it was the way he always sat when Nessie's Uncle Jasper turned into her Professor Whitlock. With his hands occupied and his stretched legs crossed at the ankles, it left his entire body vulnerable, the position reeked of confidence. Really, the pose was a common one for Jasper, in general. Sometimes he did it while he smirked, sometimes he winked, sometimes his face was blank as he watched something unfold in front of him. I was never certain if his confidence came from his power and the upper-hand it gave him over everyone he came into contact with, or if it was his innate knowledge that he was an utterly proficient killer, which his now-prominent scars only served to illustrate. In this case, I think it was his expert knowledge on the subject they were discussing.

"Yes..." he answered slowly, hesitantly, "...and no. While our diet is the most obvious difference between ourselves and other vampires, it is more a matter of what our diet represents than that we don't kill humans. Our diet allows us to hold on to our humanity, which other vampires find laughable. Vampires _aren't_ human, vampires _feed_ on humans. They shouldn't sit around playing house." He bent his neck to face his niece. "Do you know what I mean by that? Playing house?"

She shook her head, slowly, looking slightly unsure of herself. I wonder how rare it was nowadays for Nessie to _not_ know something.

He stared into space, again. "When you're visiting people in La Push, for example, their home life isn't that much different than ours, right?" Nessie cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. "People live in houses with their families. They watch TV, play games, and talk around the dinner table together. They go to sleep at night, wake up at the same time in the mornings, get into routines." He paused to let his picture sink in. "Now, we might not eat around a dinner table, but we do hunt together. We also watch TV together and generally enjoy each other's company. We might not go to sleep at night, but we have created our own routines. We change our clothes every day after we shower in the mornings, your grandfather goes to work, we go to school."

I was finding this whole thing to be insanely interesting. I felt like I should have a bowl of popcorn on my lap, or something. Nessie looked even more enthralled than I felt, especially when her uncle leaned forward for effect and told his niece, with a piercing stare, "_But_...we don't _have_ to."

He took his time rearranging himself before he spoke again. "Do we need shelter? No, the elements can't harm us and we have no need for rest. Do we need to shower? No, our pores don't secrete oils, our skin doesn't shed dead cells. Do we need money or the possessions it allows us to buy? Not at all. All we need is blood and that's free for the taking." Without looking at her, Jasper said, "Now, let me ask you a question. Why do you want to know about this _now_ and why are you asking _me?_" Now he looked at her.

She blushed slightly and looked down before clenching her jaw and raising her head to stare straight at him. "I'm not ashamed to be curious about this." I was momentarily struck by her bravery. She knew that Jasper could feel whatever she was feeling, but she voiced it, stripping his power from him. She also didn't allow for mistaken perceptions, while simultaneously giving no insight in return. "I'm old enough now to understand and I deserve honesty. Dad and Grandpa would have edited the information. I knew that you would tell me the truth."

"I will," he said, gravely, still holding her eyes with his. "Would you like me to continue?" She nodded firmly. "As I was saying, then. We feel all emotions more strongly than we did in our last lives, good and bad. Of course, we've taken parts of our past personalities with us. Carlisle has the capacity for compassion that he does because he was an extremely compassionate _man_. Esme unconditionally loved us all instantaneously because her maternal love carried over. Other personality traits are universal to vampires: Our greed and selfishness lead us to become territorial, our pride and confidence make it hard for us to change our ways, and our love and loyalty allow us to mate for eternity.

"Despite the similarities in our nature, these three characteristics are among the most crucial in understanding why _we_ are so different than other vampires. _We_ are not selfishly territorial when it comes to each other. We would all sacrifice our own lives for the sake of each other. Despite three of us having gifts that give us an inordinate amount of personal knowledge over others, _we _actively try to learn from each other and grow because of it. While loving our mates above all others, _we _love each other with a familial love that humans cannot fathom."

Jasper didn't have to look at us to know that he had a captive audience. It was starting to sound like a lecture in a class, Vampires 101 with Professor Whitlock, but it was far more interesting than anything they could ever teach in school and I was hooked. He kept going. "Most vampires spend a majority of their time with only one other vampire, their mate."

"So, most vampires are married?" Nessie seemed to have spit out her question without even knowing she had asked it.

Jasper smirked. "Aside from your Aunt Alice and I, I know of only a dozen other vampires who have married their mates: your parents, your grandparents, your Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rosalie, Aro and Sulpicia, Caius and Athenodora, and Marcus and his late wife Didyme."

"The Volturi?" Jasper nodded. "Seven couples? That's all?" He nodded, again. "What about Carmen and Eleazar?"

"They're mates, but they're not married." Seeing the confusion on Nessie's face he continued on. "I married your aunt because she wanted to have a wedding like Esme and Rosalie had. Emmett and Rosalie have gotten married half-a-dozen times because she likes _being_ a bride." I laughed at that. No surprise that Blondie would love being the center of attention all day. "Your parents have had the biggest wedding of all of us, mostly because Alice planned it and because your mom had a lot of humans she could invite. Usually, it's just us and the Denalis who are there for Rose's weddings. Your dad was the only witness at Carlisle and Esme's. Other vampires just don't see the importance of it. Weddings and marriage are humans traditions. We mate for all eternity, how much more official can you make it? On top of that, most vampires don't have valid birth certificates or IDs to even _legally_ marry." Huh. I had never thought of that. I guess I figured they all fake IDs like the ones I had stashed in my Wolf Pack.

"Do they...um..." she blushed and stuttered out, "do _everything_ married couples do?"

Wait..._what?_ Is she really asking about _sex? _What does she know about _sex?_ "What do you know about _sex?_" It was the first time I had spoken up in the conversation and my voice squeaked at the end.

She was no longer embarrassed and she narrowed her eyes at me while simultaneously rolling them. "I _have_ read my grandfather's medical texts, Jacob. I know how I was conceived and I know why female vampires can't bear children. I'm not an _idiot_, Jacob, and I'm _not_ a child!" Satisfied that she had shut me up, and she had, she turned back towards her uncle.

He had lounged passively through her scene, with a blank look on his face. "What do you remember feeling first when you were born?" Huh? She could _remember_ that? Shit! I hadn't been very nice to her before I imprinted. I guess I thought that her super memory kicked in a little later than _birth! _Regardless, I didn't see how Jasper's question was going to begin to answer _her _question. Not that I was complaining. Listening to my nine-year-old imprint talk about sex was not something I was very comfortable with.

"Thirst," Nessie answered, almost immediately. Damn. That made me sad. I didn't like thinking that her first experience in the world had been burning pain.

Jasper just nodded as thought that was exactly the answer he expected. "Every vampire I have ever seen changed has felt nothing but fear and bloodlust when they woke up, except one. One felt a different kind of lust. Bloodlust and carnal lust are, for the most part, the default states of mind in vampires. Mates are imperative to helping their partners with both urges. When hunting, they help each other lure prey and watch each other's backs while they feed. They also provide greater numbers in a fight if their hunting territory in encroached upon. As for sexual urges, well, vampires do not have to be mated in order to engage in sex, and some, like Tanya, will have sex with humans in order to fulfill their lust. When they do mate, though, the first few years of their relationship is a sort of 'honeymoon' phase and its usually spent _only_ satiating their lusts." I winced. I did _not_ need to know that about Edward and Bella.

"So, other than hunting and...uh..._mating_, what do normal vampires _do_ all day?"

Jasper shrugged. "They're mostly nomadic. They spend their days traveling—running, really—and making plans to move on to human populations so that they _can_ hunt. Depending upon the region and its climate, they hide from humans during the day. If they're brave they seek out other vampires and try to convince them that they're not a threat. Friendships and alliances are formed that way, but mostly the nomadic life is lonely and they seek each other out for company. Some, like Garrett, are adventurers, and they roam around trying to see everything and hear everyone's stories. In fact, if not for Kate's grief over the loss of her sister, I would bet that they would have already set out on their own."

"Do they ever fight?" She was looking straight as her uncle's scars as she asked.

Jasper nodded. "Of course. More often than not. There were over thirty on our side that day against the Volturi. That had to have been the largest alliance of vampires ever and I don't know how everyone coexisted for so many weeks leading up to it. The only time I've seen that many vampires together was during a fight." He seemed to realize he had said too much and paused.

"How _did_ you get your scars?" She immediately pinked, as though not sure if it was rude to ask.

It was the first question she asked that he hadn't answered. In fact, he went on as though she hadn't spoken at all. "Usually, when vampires meet for the first time, the group with the larger number calls the shots. There's a chance that you can happen upon a group that will kill first and ask questions later, so most lone vampires don't meet up with others without a contingency plan or unless they're powerful. And they definitely don't get in the way of someone else's hunt. That's just asking for it. They all want the same thing, human blood, and they'll fight if they feel that their supply is being threatened. Most vampires who roam and catch our scents know that we have a very large coven and wouldn't dare come to investigate. They also assume that we've staked our claim and know not to feed off the humans in the area. Theoretically, as the largest coven in the North, we could assume control of a city and others would respect our prerogative to do so. Some would even offer us prey to get on our good side, to get better hunting access."

_Ugh._ The way vampires thought about ending human life would never cease to disgust and infuriate me. Jasper didn't look surprised when I got up and started pacing on the opposite side of the deck, but Nessie did. My body was shaking slightly and I couldn't keep my mouth shut. "So why doesn't the Volturi just take over, then? If they see humans as cattle, as _food_, why don't they just lock them up in cages? Then vampires can just come in and select the tastiest ones."

I was being sarcastic, but Jasper answered my question, anyway. "Why? What's the point? Why waste our own eternity breeding and tending to our food, when we can allow them live in complete ignorance and have them do the work on their own?"

I scowled, still pacing, and I pulled at my hair. "That's...that's..."

"Disgusting?" Jasper supplied the word that covered the emotion he detected from me.

"Yes!"

"Isn't your way _more_ disgusting?" That took the wind out of my sails. "I mean, really, as long as there are vampires, what's the alternative, Jake?"

Even without his power, it was the little things that Jasper did that made you a little bit calmer. As soon as he used my nickname, my anger went down a notch. I collapsed back down on the deck, folding my legs under me and and putting my head in my hands. "I don't know, Jazz. I know what my instincts are telling me."

"And what's that?"

I looked straight into his eyes. "Kill 'em. The only way to protect humanity is to kill every last one of them." I heard Nessie let out a small gasp and looked over at her. Her face showed shock, but more than that there was an unreadable emotion on it. Had I scared her? No, there was no fear in her eyes.

Jasper nodded and drew my attention back to him. "Uh huh. So that's what Jacob the Alpha is thinking, what is Jacob the Honorary-Cullen thinking?"

I thought about that for a minute. "Make them choose: animal blood or death."

"So, killing a human is punishable by death?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I guess not if it's an accident or if it's a one-time thing. That's not really fair. But if a vampire's killing humans as a lifestyle they _should_ die."

"And yet two winters ago you stood alongside these killers. You watched as the family provided them with cars so they could drive off to neighboring states and murder."

"Oh, c'mon." He was pissing me off and I was pacing again. "That was _different_. That was to protect Nessie and Bella. They were on _our_ side."

"Well, that doesn't sound just. As long as they're loyal to _you_ they can murder without consequence? Who the hell are _you?_"

"I'm the one who _can_ kill them! That's who the hell _I_ am! I'm the one _made_ to kill them!"

"And because it's in your power to be so, you _should_ be judge, jury, and executioner?"

"Damn right, I should!"

"Isn't there someone else who feels like you feel? Isn't that exactly the mandate that the Volturi have given themselves?"

A frustrated growl ripped out of me. I knew that I he had just handed me my cocky ass, but I was still pissed. How dare he compare what the packs do to what the Volturi does! "Fine, then. What's the solution?"

Jasper had been slowly sitting up as our conversation escalated. He finally sat up completely, planting his feet on either side of the lower half of his lounger. "That's the _point,_ Jake. There _is_ no solution. There will _always_ be vampires and when someone tries to systematically destroy them, someone will make _armies_ of them." He gave me a very pointed look. "Vampires will _always_ feed off of humans and forcing a vampire to feed off of animals when their heart isn't in it will just make their inevitable screw-up more dangerous to humans than normal hunting practices. Aside from that, the vampires that do do the most harm to the human population are usually the ones with potent abilities, and the average vampire or werewolf wouldn't be able to take them down easily, anyway. So, you can try to make a team of vampires with talents to take even the most powerful vampires down, but that's how you end up with the Volturi guard. In the end, the best thing to do is resign yourself to the fact that most vampires are so independent that they can't cause _too_ much harm. Then you just do what every other vampire does: protect your land and those you love. It's not your responsibility to destroy _every _vampire in existence, just the ones that threaten your home and your people. Isn't _that_ your true charge as Alpha?"

The anger was draining from me and he _was _making a lot of sense, I just couldn't give in. "There _has_ to be a better answer than that." Jasper just shrugged.

***

I really was trying to pay attention, but my heart just wasn't in it. There were too many other thoughts running through my mind that had nothing to do with the "Reach for the stars" sentiment the keynote speaker was giving. Did the two-term mayor really think anyone was listening to his speech? Half of the nearly 400 graduates were thoroughly distracted with texting each other on their cells, searching for family members in the crowd behind them, and blowing up and tossing around beach balls. The other half were wasted.

I clapped when he finished, not even aware that I was doing it. My mind was reliving some of the conversations I had been having with Carlisle over the past few months. Nessie had already gotten into a study routine that occupied most of her time during the afternoons and nights, so, after the basketball season, I had had a lot of time to kill after school. I ended up in Carlisle's office a few nights a week, before my dinners and his night shifts. Over the past few weeks, we had stopped talking about trivial day-to-day things and had moved on to more interesting topics. I learned more about his life, his centuries of medical work, and why he chose to change his family in the first place. Slowly, the focus of the conversations shifted from him onto me. Though we talked about my past, I didn't bring up my mom and he didn't ask about her. He only brought up my father once. "Have you given any thought to whether or not you'd like your father to attend your graduation? No matter how many times I see them do it, I always love to see my children walk cross the stage." I had given him a noncommittal shrug and he hadn't brought Billy up, again. Mostly, we talked about my future. On nights when Edward was in the house he noticeably wouldn't bring up Nessie, though we both knew that _my_ plans and _her_ plans would eventually become _our_ plans.

In the fall, Carlisle and Edward had both encouraged me to apply to colleges but I had turned them down. There was no way I was getting into Dartmouth without the Cullens paying for a new library, or something. Not that I could handle the workload, anyway. I mean, I'm not stupid, but I'm not Ivy League, either. There was no other school in the area and there was no way I was going to give up sharing my bed with Nessie every night. Edward, especially, didn't like the fact that I was giving up a chance at a degree just so I could stay close to Nessie, but I knew that he would have done the same for Bella. I mean, did he really think I was going to move across the country to be with her, only to turn around and leave? So, trying not to look a loser, I had explained to them my plan to take the ASE mechanic's tests and get a job at a shop in town until the family's next big move.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Carlisle had brought up college, again. This time, though, he had come up with a compromise. I was already planning on spending the summer studying for the ASE tests so that I could get a job at a shop in the fall, so he had suggested that I study with Nessie after passing my tests. She was already doing college-level math, and had more than a normal high schooler's knowledge of history, literature, and science. In a few months, they wanted her to use her base in math and science to learn physics, chemistry, and biology in more depth. They also wanted her to start studying a wider variety of humanities. So, while Nessie would be taking the rough equivalent of every lower-division undergraduate class on an Ivy League campus, they suggested that I study a few of the subjects alongside her. I had agreed, easily, which had surprised Carlisle, who thought he would have to sell me more on the idea. It might be a little weird learning with her, especially because she could kick my ass in everything. But, it also means that I'll be going to college with her, in a way, and that was kinda cool. Literature "class" would be easy, anyway. Since she'd learned to use her shield, she'd started reading to me at night, again. Besides, I'd meant it when I promised myself the first day over here that I would try to never embarrass Nessie with my ignorance.

As soon as Edward and Jasper had learned that I was agreeing to Carlisle's compromise, they had immediately started badgering me to pick a "major." I hadn't told them, but I was seriously considering studying history. I always enjoyed talking about battles and strategies with Jasper and I was the only one who had willingly watched all eleven and a half hours of his PBS Civil War documentary with him. Nessie had said, after sitting through only one of the DVDs, that I liked watching "war stuff" with her uncle because I was the general of my pack. Not willing to be outranked, Jasper had scoffed and said that with only four wolves under me, I could "_hardly_ be considered a general." Seeing how defensive he had gotten I had ordered _Major_ Whitlock to put in the next DVD. A minute later, after calming me to the point that I couldn't phase, he had me pinned and he _dared_ me to try and order him to do something. Esme had come into the room and, after she scolded us for fighting in the house, we had continued watching the documentary. With a little help from Jazz, I had been _delighted_ to switch the DVDs from then on.

It was hard for me to pick a major, though, when I knew that no college degree was ever going to help me at work. A part of me just wanted to do general ed classes and leave it at that. It was still better than a mechanic would ever need. I couldn't help thinking, though, that I wouldn't be a mechanic _forever._ At some point in my extremely long life-span, there was a good chance that knowing how to repair a car or motorcycle would be as useless as someone nowadays knowing how to repair a covered wagon's axle. One day, it would be old news and I would have to stop working. Then what? Would I never work again? If I was being honest with myself, there were few indefinites in my life: being Nessie's imprint, being my children's father when the day arrived, and being my pack's Alpha. Could being an Alpha be considered a _job?_ I guess at some point it was the closest I would get to having one. So, what major would help me be an Alpha? I couldn't think of one. I doubt there was a college out there that gave degrees in metaphysical leadership.

The Valedictorian was speaking and the other graduates were getting restless. How do the Cullens get away without being Valedictorians all the time? My mind wandered again, this time thinking about the summer. I had wanted to spend it in La Push, but it wasn't going to happen. Bella and Edward were both taking two classes over the break and there was no way they were letting Nessie go without them for three months, so I was sticking around, too. I was swallowing my guilt about leaving the guys one short even though I didn't have a very good excuse not to be there. Oh well. Nessie comes first.

As it was, we _were_ flying home the next day, but only staying for a few weeks, until Dartmouth's classes started up again. Bella told me that it was because she had missed seeing Charlie during Spring Break, but I think she knew that I had been bummed when I found out I wouldn't be there to see Quil and Embry and the rest of my old class graduate. We hadn't talked about it, but I knew that it was probably safe to assume that Nessie and I would be spending those nights apart unless I slept as a wolf at the foot of her bed.

Soon, it was time to line up to cross the stage and I started to pay attention, again. With my last name, I was going to be one of the first to get my empty diploma holder, after all the Adams', Andersons and Bakers. I genuinely smiled when the photographer took my picture as I stood on the side of the stage, but mostly because the five-foot-nothing guy had to run around and find his step stool to even get me in the frame. They called my name and I heard the shouts and cheers of my Cullen family as I walked up on stage and shook hands with the principal.

I could hear the constant, rapid ticking of Nessie's new camera's shutter as Emmett's whistles were overshadowed by two too-accurate howls, and my head whipped around. There, in the front row, beside Nessie, Bella, and Edward were Seth and Embry. In the row behind them, with the other half of the Cullens, sat Rachel, Charlie, and...Billy. I tried to keep the smile on my face when I saw my father, but I knew it fell at least a little.

I sat back down and silently fumed. Now I know where Edward had been while everyone else was hunting. I was also beginning to doubt that Carlisle had really been called into work. I had grown used to surprises with Alice in the house, but I couldn't believe that they would do _this_ behind my back. They knew that we weren't speaking, did they really think this was a good idea? I decided to focus on the positive. I _was_ happy that Charlie was here. He was, in most ways, an uncle to me, and I knew that he would have been at my graduation had it been in La Push, too. I couldn't help but think that he was here as a buffer, though. It was nice that my brother and sister were here, too. I knew Rachel, especially, would have been sorry to miss her little brother graduate. To me it was no big deal, being a Cullen for the rest of eternity pretty much guaranteed dozens of them in my future, but she would get a kick out of it.

Finally, it was time to rise and move our tassel from one side of our ridiculous-looking hat to the other. Some people threw theirs in the air and then had to go scrambling after them when they landed several rows away. Two of them actually ended up hitting other graduates and the owners had to apologize when they went to retrieve it. We marched out and I walked through the throngs of hugging recent-graduates and made my way to the outskirts of the crowd. I knew that my family would have no trouble spotting my head above the crowd or following my scent.

I was stopped a few times and had to bend down to give a few over-enthusiastic female classmates hugs. I was afraid two of them were going to have heart attacks when they felt my back muscles through my dress shirt and the now-unzipped gown. Might as well give them a thrill before I never see them again, I guess. I shared fist-bumps with a few guys from the basketball team and promised, insincerely, to keep in touch over the summer. I saw Mr. Miller and he looked hurried as he congratulated me before being called over to meet a graduate's parents. He was a nice guy and, from what I had heard, a good teacher, so I wasn't surprised that he was in demand.

I saw Emmett above the crowd first and was taken off-guard when Nessie jumped into my body even though everyone else was still a dozen yards away. She must have weaved through the bottom of the crowd. "Congratulations, Jacob!"

I laughed. "Jeez, Nessie. How many times are you going to tell me that today?"

She didn't play along, knowing she only had a few seconds alone with me. "Are you okay with Billy being here?" I just shrugged. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but..." She didn't get a chance to finish, because everybody else was upon us. I kept her on my hip and Bella, Rachel, Alice, and Esme gave me one-armed hugs around her. Keeping her there saved the men from having to give me embarrassing, back-slapping hugs. Charlie, at least, looked grateful. He gave me a pat on the arm and a "Congratulations, son." I thanked him for coming and let him talk to Nessie while I moved on to Seth and Embry. Seth looked hyper and he hugged me anyway, as he congratulated me and gave Nessie a loud smack of a kiss on the cheek. She giggled. I did a complicated handshake/fist-bump with my brother and then he kissed Nessie on the forehead. I didn't think anything of it when Seth had done it, but I had forgotten how close Nessie had gotten to the rest of the pack members during the week of Spring Break.

Then, the moment of truth was upon me. I looked down at Billy and was unprepared for the tears I saw in his eyes. "Congratulations, Jacob. Carlisle was telling me you got straight-A's this semester." I just nodded. Everyone else was trying to give us some semblance of privacy by looking around at the crowd and making inane small talk. Nessie squirmed in my arms and I set her down. She went straight over to Charlie, who leaned down to talk to her. I turned my attention back to Billy. "I'm really proud of you, son."

His voice cracked a little and suddenly, I felt like the world's biggest jackass. I knelt down next to his chair and hugged him. "Thanks, Dad." I stood up, hoping he knew that was all I could give him at the moment.

Esme cut through the awkward silence between us. "Ready for pictures?" For the next ten minutes I stood in the middle of every possible combination of my friends and family. Holding Nessie in my arms while I was surrounded by the Cullens, standing awkwardly side-by-side but not touching with Charlie, putting an arm around Embry and Seth's shoulders while we grinned like idiots, wrapping an arm around Esme and Carlisle's waists while they beamed like the proud parents they are, grinning with Jasper and Alice, and even smirking with Rosalie and Emmett. There was an awkward moment when Esme didn't know how to ask for a picture of me and my brother and sister and then an even worse moment a second later as we all bent down so we could get Billy in the shot. Finally, Nessie and I took a picture alone, and then Bella joined the shot, and then Edward. As we disbanded from our picture pose, Edward had grabbed my shoulder and spoke into my ear, "Political science." Huh? "That's the degree you want if you plan on being a leader. History would be a good minor. Especially military history, in your case." Oh. Huh. I hadn't thought of that. He patted my shoulder and went to rejoin Bella.

No one had seemed to notice our discussion as most of the Cullens were figuring out how to get everyone back to the house. I asked Seth and Embry to ride with me and I didn't have to ask to know that Nessie would also, so we waved and left everyone behind as we loaded ourselves into my Spyker. Most of the men in the crowd adjacent to the parking lot turned their head as my engine roared to life. I had forgotten it had that affect on people. After a few weeks of driving it to school, it had become commonplace and I had stopped getting stares. I had to drive by them to get to the street exit and more than a few jaws dropped.

Seth did most of the talking on the twenty-mile drive home. First, he told us about the plane ride over. How nice first-class was, how the stewardesses ignored them after they had eaten their weight in free food, and how busy Boston's airport was. "I mean, I don't know how much Edward paid for those tickets, but it was worth it. My legs didn't even get squished!" Then, he described the difference between the big-city of Seattle and the bigger-city of Boston. I guess having spent half-an-hour driving through them to get to and from their airports, had made him somewhat of an expert. "I mean, Seattle's big, and it has its fair share of skyscrapers. But, _Boston?_ That was crazy _huge!_" Finally, he talked about the graduation ceremony. "Can you imagine 400 people in one grade? How does that work? I mean, did you even know everyone you graduated with?" I told him I didn't even know a quarter of them, just to see him flip out. I wasn't disappointed. "Can you _imagine?_" He had asked Embry. Nessie only encouraged him by asking questions and giving _her_ opinions of_ his_ opinions. Embry and I exchanged glances in the rear-view mirror.

Embry spoke for the first time when I pulled into the dirt road that was our driveway. "Man, they sure like to live in the middle of nowhere, huh?" And then I remembered with dread that they hadn't seen this place, yet. And that, if they thought that the Forks house was impressive, they were about to be blown away.

"What's wrong?" Nessie must have sensed my growing uneasiness. I didn't respond. I knew we were only a quarter of a mile away from the final turn and then they would see the house, _my_ house.

"Holy shit! Are you kidding me, man?" Embry was beside himself. Seth just had his mouth open like an idiot. I just gave him a look in the mirror that I hope he knew meant, _what can I do about __it? _ I parked in the garage, figuring the other cars, especially the one my dad was in, would need to be parked in front. Bad idea. My brand-new Ducati was sitting in its stand on full display. "Whoa! Whose bike is _that?_"

Nessie spoke up, turning around to grin at Embry. "That's Jacob's new motorcycle. He got it for graduation." I just cringed. I hadn't said a word for a good five miles and I wasn't going to start now.

Embry went straight towards it as soon as he got out of the car. "Christ, Jacob. She's beautiful."

"I'll tell Brianna you said that."

Seth and Nessie laughed, but Embry didn't. He wasn't paying attention. He was too busy running his hands up and down the length of the bike. Then he turned to me, a fierce look on his face. "Jacob Black, I let you ride my dirt bike for _years_. If you don't let me try her out, I'll _never_ forgive you."

"Jesus, Embry lighten up. Of course, you can ride her. Just wait until after dinner. Esme would kill me if we were out screwing around when dinner's ready." We started walking back towards the house. "You really thought I wouldn't let you go for a spin?"

"Bro, if that was _my_ bike, I wouldn't let you _touch _her." I laughed.

"How fast does it go?" Seth was trying, he just wasn't into this stuff like we were.

"It tops out at 180."

"Do you guys ever wonder how fast _we_ run?" Embry and I both nodded, but our attention was pulled to Nessie, who nodding enthusiastically along with us. Embry and Seth looked throughly impressed and I gloated, internally. I've got the coolest imprint ever!

I was having such a good time that I wasn't thinking as I pushed open the never-locked front door and walked into the house. My first thoughts were of the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen and the brand-new grill that I could see out on the back deck, but I was pulled from them by the collective gasp of Seth and Embry. They weren't saying anything, so I kinda just ignored them. "When did they get the grill and when did they start the food?"

"Uncle Em got the grill at Home Depot while you went to the rehearsal this morning and then he and Uncle Jazz put it together and hid it behind the solarium. My mom and grandma moved all the food down from the kitchen upstairs as soon as you left earlier. They've been cooking up there since they got back from hunting." That surprised me. I hadn't smelled anything when I was getting dressed. I guess they really were trying to surprise me with the guest list. I couldn't even be pissed off about it. They thought they were doing something nice for me.

"There's an _upstairs _kitchen?_" _That was Seth.

"Uh huh. Right off our study." Too much information, Nessie!

Thankfully, the sound of cars coming down the driveway momentarily distracted Seth and Embry. I ran upstairs and changed out of my suit, putting on the maroon polo and khaki pants Nessie had wanted me to wear earlier and stuffing the few things I would need for later in my pocket. Edward and Bella were the last to make it back to the house, which I thought was weird, until I saw that they had had Charlie with them. Edward was such a kiss ass. Esme was in the middle of giving Rachel, Embry, and Seth a tour of the downstairs and the solarium, and Carlisle was in the back with my dad who was already nursing a beer. The sun was already below the trees, casting a shadow over the deck. Emmett and Jasper seemed to be struggling with the grill.

Dinner went as smoothly as it could have. Only Carlisle, Esme, Bella, and Edward sat near enough to Charlie to have to pretend to eat, though they dropped half of their food to their napkins, anyway. Nessie didn't mind eating most of her steak because Emmett had left it on the grill only long enough for it to get warm, but she wanted nothing to do with her baked potato, corn on the cob, or any of the other side dishes Bella and Esme had whipped up. Rachel, who was only really comfortable with Nessie, Bella, and Alice on the Cullen side, sat next to my dad at the end of the table. Bella caught up with her dad while Esme went through pictures of me with Billy, filling him in on my life for the past six months. Charlie raised an eyebrow at me when he saw the picture of me in my basketball uniform, being fitted by Alice. She had told me that the loose jersey top and shorts weren't "tailored" and that it made my torso look square instead of the desirable inverted triangle. I really don't try to remember these things, I swear, but Nessie tells me the same crap all the time and I find it hard not to hang on _her_ every word.

After she and Bella cleared off the dinner plates, Esme brought out a towering seven-layer chocolate cake cut into thirds for me, Seth, and Embry, and a smaller chocolate cake with "Congratulations, Jacob!" written perfectly and elegantly on it in dark red frosting. Every Cullen but Nessie claimed fullness as an excuse to not partake in dessert. Nessie picked at hers, enjoying the rich, sugar-filled topping, but not the cake itself. I ate slowly, knowing that if I was going to give Carlisle the check, it was going to have to be before Esme and Bella started clearing the dessert plates. As I chewed my last bite, Nessie grabbed my hand under the table. Suddenly, I felt much more relaxed and confident.

"Thanks, honey." I whispered to her. "Keep it up." I wasn't too proud to know that I was going to need her help for this. When Charlie complimented Esme on dinner, telling her it was the best he'd ever had, and general agreement started flying from up and down the table, I knew it was time. I stood up. "Um..." Conversation halted and everyone turned from their seats on the long benches to face me. I felt Nessie's hand on the side of my thigh and a new surge of confidence went through me, along with a smidge of gratitude. Her way of reminding me to thank everyone. I smiled down at her. God, how I loved her. She smiled back up at me and then turned to look around the table, reminding me what I was doing. "_Oh._ Um...first...um...I just wanted to thank everyone for coming out here. It means a lot." I wasn't looking at anyone, so I didn't know what their reactions were.

I decided to do the easy thing, first. "I want to thank Nessie, first." She looked surprised as I looked down at her. "There's no way I would have gotten anywhere _near_ a 4.0 without you helping me everyday. I would've skimmed through my English books if you hadn't read them to me. I would've skipped the hard problems on my math homework if you hadn't sensed when I was confused." A few people snickered around the table, but I kept going. "And I would have never made it through my day without these." I pulled out a small, heart-shaped wooden box I had made in wood sculpture class. In the center of the lid was a recessed carving of a wolf's face profile. I set it down in front of Nessie and, in my nervousness, started explaining myself as she picked it up to examine it. "See, our final project was to make a box in class with a carving on the top and—"

"It's beautiful, Jacob." She rubbed every detail of the carving with the tips of her fingers.

"Open it." She took off the lid, passing it to Bella, who was sitting next to her. Then she glanced back down and grinned. "They were the only reason I could bear to leave you everyday to go to school." She pulled out the stack of heart-shaped post-it notes that I had collected in my locker.

She flipped through them, quickly, and when she looked up at me there were tears in her eyes. "You kept them?"

"Every single one." I smiled down at her and she matched it.

She put the post-its back in the box and jumped up into my arms. "Thank you, Jacob."

"Thank _you_, honey."I kissed her forehead and then put her back down on the bench as she wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes with the back of her hand. The lid had been passed around the table and compliments were coming at me from around the table. I was suddenly embarrassed that everyone had just witnessed that.

I cleared my throat. "I actually want to to thank all you guys." I looked over at the Cullen side of the table. "I know it probably wasn't the best news for you guys when Carlisle and Esme asked me to move in. And I fully expected to feel like the loser in the guest room who you guys put up with because Nessie and Bella wanted me here. But since that first day, you guys have all gone out of your way to make me feel like this is my home, too. Like I'm an honorary Cullen." I looked at Jasper as I used his own words from earlier in the day. He smirked at me, beside him, Alice was grinning from ear to ear. "I love you guys." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the shocked look on Rosalie's face.

I walked around the table so that I was standing between Esme and Carlisle. I lowered myself to balance on my haunches and looked at Esme. I cleared my throat, rubbed the back of my neck, and tried to keep the emotion out of my voice so it didn't crack. "I don't really remember my mom very well."

She stroked the side of my face with the back of her hand. "Oh, Jacob."

"Even before I moved in with you guys, you were always trying to take care of me. And..." I shrugged and spoke towards my knees. "I guess I just know that she would have liked that someone was taking care of me like that."

She turned around quickly to wrap her arms around me as her body shook with silent sobs. "I love you so much, sweetheart."

"I know. I love you, too, Mom." I didn't want to look over her shoulder at the rest of the table, so I lay my forehead on her shoulder. When she had collected herself, I pulled away a little and she kissed my cheek.

I felt Carlisle's hand squeeze my shoulder and I spun on my heels to look at him, trying to ignore the surprised looks on my sister and father's faces. I _never_ spoke about my mother. I just hoped that Rachel, especially, was okay with me calling Esme that. Carlisle's face was full of gratitude. Every Cullen knew exactly how much that had meant to her. I knew, too. That's why I had done it. What they probably didn't think about, though, was that I had done it in front of Embry and Seth and that it would only be a matter of time before _both_ packs saw it, too. Swearing my loyalty to my half-vampire imprint was one thing, but calling myself an honorary member of a coven and addressing the coven leader's mate as my mother was something else, altogether. Originally, I had planned on calling Carlisle "Dad" tonight, but I couldn't do that in front of Billy. Even if I put Billy's feelings aside, Carlisle wouldn't be able to and he wouldn't appreciate my lack of tact.

"Carlisle?"

"Yes, son?" It wasn't unusual that he called me that, but I was still surprised that he did it in front of Billy. Maybe my display with Esme had shown him what I considered him to be to me, too. I hoped so.

"I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for me and for all the talks we've been having lately. It's meant a lot to me. I'll always appreciate the start you've given me, and I wanted to give you this." I pulled out the envelope and held it out for him to take. "Since August, I've considered the allowance you've given me to be a loan. I just didn't think I'd be able to pay you back so quickly."

He took the envelope that held the check for $7,500 and sighed heavily. "I hope you know that it was never my intention for this money to be returned to me. You truly did not have to do this."

"I know you didn't expect it, but I _did_ have to do it. I was going to include interest, but Alice told me that you wouldn't appreciate that."

He nodded. "I most definitely would not have. I would have been offended to make money off of family." He sighed again and smiled at his wife. "Well, Esme," he said softly. "We've lost another one."

She laughed and put a hand to cup my cheek. "As long as he still let's me cook for him, I don't mind him growing up."

I smiled as they tried to lighten the mood. "You should know by now that I don't turn down food."

She shared a glance with her husband. "Why don't you go show the boys your room?"

I nodded and walked back over towards Seth and Embry. "How 'bout it, guys?"

"Sure." Seth agreed, easily.

"Just don't forget you promised me a ride on your new bike." Embry had a one-track mind.

"Sure, sure. We should have time." I looked down at my watch. It was already ten, but it was only seven their time and our flight wasn't until the late afternoon tomorrow. "You might want to wait for tomorrow, though. Jasper and I are racing."

"I hope you two weren't thinking of street racing." Charlie was scowling at me.

I was surprised when Carlisle helped me out. "I only allow them to race on our private land and only with the proper safety equipment."

Charlie looked like he might not be buying it, so I tried to change the subject. "The Mariners game is probably just starting if you guys wanted to watch."

"That's a great idea, Jacob." Esme gushed and then turned her warm smile towards her guests. "Can I get you two another beer?"

Charlie shrugged one of his shoulders and looked at his own watch. I bet the cop in him changed it to local time as soon as he got off the plane. I saw Edward hiding back a smirk and I knew I was probably right. After debating the late hour with the chance to watch the game he thought he'd be missing tonight, he agreed. "Why not? We don't need to be up early tomorrow. Besides," he cleared his throat, "this imported beer you've got isn't so bad." Bella's eyes nearly bugged out of her head when he said that and Edward grinned smugly. Nessie showed me a memory of Bella arguing with Edward, who was stocking the fridge, that no matter how many awards the beer had gotten, her dad wouldn't drink anything but his usual.

The men trooped inside while Rachel insisted on helping in the kitchen, Nessie followed her. I laughed when I realized that Esme and Bella would have to clean up at human speed. Not that Rachel didn't know what they are, but they wouldn't freak her out by showing her exactly what they could do. Even when Nessie was cooking at the pack house, she only let the wolves see how fast she could move. The nights that she had cooked with Emily, she had practically begged Emily to leave the dishes in the sink so she could wash at her own speed once she went back home with Sam.

I walked up the staircase while Seth and Embry followed. We heard the game starting as we got to the fourth floor and then nothing once I had shut the door to our bedrooms' hallway. Seth and Embry both turned around in surprise. "The whole house is soundproof. The windows are, too." I answered the question that would come next. "Do _you_ want to hear four vampire couples going at it all night?" They snickered. I started walking down towards my room.

"What's that way?" Seth pointed to the hallway leading to Nessie's door.

"Nessie's bedroom."

"But I thought you guys share a room." I shook my head. "Oh. I just thought...I mean, at the pack house..."

"She sleeps in my room at night, but she has her own. It kinda started by accident and just sorta stuck. Edward's still not very happy about that. When they drew up the plans for the house, he didn't even want us to have connecting rooms. Bella doesn't care, though, and Edward isn't about to fight with both of them." I opened up the door and let them follow me in. "This is it." They both stared around with gaping mouths. "Closet and bathroom." I pointed at the nearest door. "That one leads to the staircase down to our study and to Nessie's room." I pointed at the farthest door on the wall.

"Ooh. Can I? I didn't want to ask because I wasn't even sure if they had one." Seth pointed towards the bathroom.

I motioned for him to go ahead, but as he started towards it when what he said kicked in. "Wait. What did you think they made _me_ do? Go in the woods?" Embry rolled his eyes at Seth, who gave me a sheepish grin and shrugged.

I sat on my bed while Embry walked around, taking everything in. "Big bed." I just nodded. I don't even think the bed is a standard size, so I hoped he didn't ask. "Nice TV."

"Yeah, I know. I don't watch too much of it, though, with school. Nessie usually hogs the remote, anyway." He laughed and walked over the two window-walls. "Hey, Embry? I'm really sorry I missed your graduation last week. I mean, thanks for coming to mine."

"We're brothers, man. I know you would've been there for mine if you could have." I would have. I had considered buying a plane ticket before I found out that it would be the same week as finals.

When Seth came out, Embry took his turn. Seth was more impressed by the bed than anything else. He jumped on and spread out. "I fit!"

Embry came out and I led them downstairs to the study. I threw a dismissive hand towards the bookshelves. "The books are Nessie's, but this is all mine..." I flipped on the light inside the kitchen. "It's completely unnecessary, but I'm a lazy bastard and it's nice to not have to go down four flights of stairs for food."

Seth flopped down on the couch while Embry shook his head at the titles of some of Nessie's textbooks. "I fit on this one, too!" I laughed. He pointed to the door in front of him with his chin. "What's that door go to?"

"The solarium/library thing. I still don't know what the hell to call it or why it needs to be three stories tall. My bedroom is the only one in the house that doesn't have a full bookshelf. They have tons more, too. Each house they have still has books stored in them."

"They have more houses than this one and the one back home?" Embry, perched on the edge of Nessie's desk, looked surprised.

I leaned back against the wall. "Yeah. I don't know how many exactly, but I get the feeling they don't sell them when they leave. I doubt any of them are farther south than Chicago, though. I know Carlisle's lived there before, though, because that's where he changed Edward. I'm pretty sure they've lived in Canada and maybe in Europe, too. I'm not sure."

"So, you could move _anywhere_ next?" Ah, so it was the Alpha in Embry that was asking.

I shrugged. "I guess. We're staying here for another year, at least, though. Bella trying to graduate by the end of the spring semester, I think. Well, I guess they all are, I just only count Bella because it's her first time. The rest of them are kinda just going because she is. Actually, I heard her mention something about med school."

"She can do that?" Seth sat up. They both looked impressed.

"Edward's done it a couple of times so it's not impossible. Plus, her thirst is really under control. I mean, she saw Charlie the day after she changed. Jasper thinks she's some kind of prodigy or something."

"I didn't know Bella wanted to be a doctor," Seth mused under his breath.

"Well, she _is_ a bio major. Who knows if she'll be able to practice, though. It took Carlisle nearly a century until he was able to. But, I definitely think it'll be a while before they do the whole high school thing, again."

We were silent for a minute until Seth spoke up, again. "I miss Bella." We both looked at him with matching looks that said, _where the hell did that come from? "_I know I wasn't a wolf when Victoria was after her and she was hanging around La Push, but I used to be over at the Cullens' place all the time last year. She was fun to hang out with." He looked over at Embry. "You should invite her to the party."

"Oh, yeah, bro. I forgot to tell you. We're having a little graduation party in a few days at the house. Paul wanted to have it last week, but Quil and I were holding out for you to come back. Rachel was the one that finally talked him into waiting."

"Thanks, Em." I reminded myself to tell Rachel thanks, too.

He shrugged. "It's turning into a goodbye party for Sam and Emily, too. They're moving up to Seattle in a couple of weeks so they can find jobs before school starts. I'm inviting half the Makah rez and it'll probably be the last time Emily sees them before she moves, so I think a lot of them will be coming to see her off, too. We'll probably still do something for them right before they leave, though." Perfect. I guess I know when I'm going to give everyone their gifts.

"So, do you think Bella and Edward will come?" Seth looked at me with hopeful eyes.

"I don't know. I'll ask her, though."

"You should invite Alice, too. All the imprints like it when she's around."

"I don't know, Seth. You might be asking too much there. Especially because Jasper would never let her be surrounded by a bunch of wolves without him there to protect her. And there's no way in hell Jasper would go to a party full of humans."

"He's right, Seth. It probably wouldn't be safe."

"Oh, Jasper's safe. I went to a Red Sox game with him. He can handle his thirst. He would have more of a problem being in close proximity to a bunch of hormonal teenagers."

"Alice could talk him into going. She could talk anyone into anything. All I have to do is tell her that's there's a new imprint she hasn't met. _Hey..._" Seth said as an idea came to him. "Brianna doesn't have an imprint bag, huh? I'll have to remind her and Nessie."

"Good idea. I think Alice still have tons of that material left. Just don't call it an imprint bag, remember?"

Embry looked confused. "Why not?" I forgot that Seth, Sam, and Emily were the only ones who knew to keep their mouths shut to Nessie about being an imprint. How did I not think of that before? It was really stupid of me to have let her spend a week with the wolves without warning them first.

"Nessie doesn't know she's Jacob's imprint."

Embry's mouth dropped open. "She doesn't know?"

I shook my head. "She knows _something_. She knows that we have what Sam and Emily have and what Kim and Jared have and what Rach and Paul have...she hasn't met Brianna yet, huh? Neither have I, I guess. Man, she's going to be my sister-in-law one day and I haven't even met her. That's pretty bad. Anyway," I stopped rambling. "She knows_ something,_ I just don't think she knows that what we have will one day change into what you guys have. I think she thinks it'll be like Quil and Claire forever."

"So why haven't you told her?"

"Edward and Bella don't want to. Especially Edward. He's adamant that she have a choice in who she ends up with."

"That's crazy. I mean, I get that Quil can't tell Claire yet. I don't even think she'd understand. But Nessie's smarter than all of us and she's going to figure it out sometime. Man, I can't even imagine what I'd do if someone told me there was even a chance Brianna might not end up with me. Though, she's pushing for more at the moment." Embry scratched his head when he said the last part and seemed to be speaking only to himself. He looked back up at me. "Just be happy that Nessie _doesn't_ see you that way, yet."

I laughed. "I believe you. I'm not really scared of her not choosing me, anyway." I shifted uncomfortably against the wall. It had been a _long_ day. "You guys want to go back and watch the game upstairs?"

We went back up and I turned the TV to FSN Northwest which I'm sure was only included because the Cullens purchase every single package they can, including the ones in different languages. A few minutes later, Carlisle knocked on my half-opened door. It was odd to see him there, since he'd never actually been in my room. He must have realized it at the same time, because he looked appraisingly around before training his eyes on me. "Would you care to join me in my study?"

"Oh...um, yeah." I got up off the bed, which was big enough for the three of us to lounge on comfortably, and launched the remote at Embry's head. He snatched it from the air without taking his eyes off the game. "You want to...?" I waved towards the stairway that would lead us to the study.

"That would be most prudent of us."

We walked silently across the room, down the stairs, through the study, down the stairs in the library, and into _his_ study on the first floor. It was bigger than the one I shared with Nessie because it wasn't cut in half to accommodate a kitchen. There were also wall-to-wall bookshelves, filled with leather-bound, antique-looking volumes along with shelves and shelves of medical journals. There was no back wall of windows, but there was the same spiral staircase leading into what I knew to be the bedroom he shared with Esme.

We sat down in the usual spots we filled when we spoke in here a couple of nights a week. I half-sat, half-sprawled on the soft, brown, leather sofa and he sat in an armchair made up of the same leather. Instantly, I noticed something different about the room. It smelled like my father. Carlisle spoke first. He always spoke first. I think it was just a routine we had gotten into since the first of our discussions, and we had never broken out of it. That first night I had been bored, wandering the library, and had found the door to his study open. I had made slow passes by the door before stopping in the doorway. He had been reading, but didn't look bothered when I took a peek inside. I immediately had stared at all the pictures and paintings that covered the walls, especially the one of the Volturi. A few minutes later, he had set down his book and was sharing his stories with me. Eventually, Esme had learned of our weekly talks and I usually walked in to find dessert and a tall glass of cold milk waiting for me.

"I wanted to thank you for what you said to Esme tonight. She considers you a son and it means a great deal to her to have you think of her as your surrogate mother."

"I know I haven't told you a lot about my mom. Half of it is because I don't remember her very well and the other half is because I usually end up crying when I do. My sister and my dad have a much harder time dealing with it than I do, because they remember so much of their life with her. I never felt like I could bring her up with them, though. Like my sadness couldn't really compare to theirs, you know?" I shrugged. "Mostly I remember the feeling she gave me, that undeniable feeling of warmth when she was taking care of me. Esme makes me feel like that. That's all I wanted her to know." I shrugged.

"She does now."

"Listen, Carlisle, I know it sounds kinda stupid now, especially because I had it all prepared in my head, earlier. But I want you to know that I really like the talks we've been having. They remind me of something, but not something I've actually experienced, you know?" I shook my head. "That doesn't really make any sense. It's like that feeling with Esme. I've never really had the equivalent with my dad and I know that a big part of it was that he was torn up about my mom's death and then with getting sick and having to raise three kids and everything. But, I've always seen these heart-to-heart father-son moments on TV and in movies and it's not the same, but there's that feeling you get when you watch them, you know? Anyway, that's what these conversations are like to me, if that makes sense." I stopped to take a breath and looked at him from under my brow. "I really did have it planned out a lot better in my head."

Carlisle chuckled. "I think I understand, regardless, because I, too, look forward to our nighttime chats. I don't know if you were aware that after I changed each of my children, after Jasper and Alice joined our family, and even before Bella married Edward, I had conversations with them much like the ones you and I have been enjoying. It was different for each of them. Edward could already hear so much of my thoughts that I mostly shared the stories of my past, while Bella was eager to learn as much about this life as possible before she joined our world. Rosalie had a hard time adjusting to her new situation and I spent many nights conveying my deepest sympathies for taking that choice away from her, while Emmett had the most trouble understanding our difficult way in dealing with our thirst. Alice walked through the door loving and knowing us all, having been privy to our day-to-day life through her visions. When we spoke, we spoke of the future because Alice has never held very much weight in the past. With Jasper it was _very_ different. Because of Jasper's background, he was anxious to hear my own reasoning for changing humans and to learn as much about the lifestyle I adopted as he could. We are both also students of history and we swapped tales from our time as immortals. It did not escape either of us that he had led a life of killing and war, while I had led a life of healing and peace.

"I have very strong children, Jacob, and I have learned a great deal from each of them. I must admit, I have also learned a great deal about myself by retelling my stories to different ears. You're an interesting case, though, Jacob Black. I know that you were being honest earlier when you thanked everyone for taking you into the family, but you have done that all on your own. You, Jacob, were thrust into this world at a very young age and, unlike the rest of us, have had the blessing and curse of retaining the memories of your old life. Like Rosalie, you never asked for this and would have given up anything to go back. Like Edward, you considered yourself a monster and can only see the good in what you are when it helps you to save those you love. Like Emmett, you're funny, brave, and warm. Like Jasper, you are sometimes ruled by your emotions, but you are also kind and considerate and can comfort and calm others with your presence. Like Esme, you are fiercely loyal and will fight to the death for the innocent and those you love. Like Alice, you embrace life and compel others, like Jasper, to want to be near you. I would like to think that you and I share a compassion for all of humanity that not many in our positions have. Your most endearing trait, you share with the girl who would have been your betrothed had not magic and the supernatural interfered with your lives. Like Bella, you have an open and forgiving heart. What makes you who you are, you share with your Renesmee. Both of you value honesty and justice above all else."

There were tears streaming down my face and after all the planning I had done, I ended up just blurting it out. "I love you, Dad."

"I know that, son. I love you, too." We stared at each other for a few beats and all I could think was, Ephraim Black _never_ had this in mind when he met Carlisle. I wiped the back of my hand across my face as Carlisle spoke, again. "I think it's time you forgave your father, Jacob."

"He hurt my mom, Carlisle. She had that pain hanging over her head for my entire life. I have to look back on every memory I have of her and think, was this how she was before she was broken? I don't know how she could have forgiven him. I don't even know if she _did_ forgive him. Did she want out but not want to take our dad from us? Was she just saving us from Embry's childhood? I can forgive him for the lie I lived, but I can't forgive him for the one he made _her _live."

"That's not your grudge to hold, Jacob. It was your mother's."

"It's the only thing I can do for her, Carlisle."

"That's not true. Let's say that the worst is true, that your mother never did forgive you father, which I don't believe for a second, especially not if you've inherited your forgiveness from her. Then, it would also be true that she stayed with him for _you_, so that you _would_ have a relationship with your father. If you truly wanted to do something for her, you would give her that." I couldn't argue with his logic, so I didn't say anything. "I did want to apologize to you, tonight. We spoke about inviting your father over for your graduation and I overlooked your obvious hesitance because I thought that my wisdom in this area might exceed your own. I did not have a healthy relationship with my father and time separated us before I could make things right. I did not want that to be your fate. So, if my disregard for your wishes provides an opportunity for reconciliation with your father, I may be sorry, but I do not regret it."

I didn't want to do it, but I knew I had to. I had put it off long enough. I mean, if Embry could forgive him, I could, too, right? "I guess I'll go find Billy." I swung my feet so they were flat on the floor and leaned forward, preparing to stand up.

"Can I leave you with one thing?" I slumped back into the couch. I really had be a long day and it was about to get longer. I nodded at Carlisle. "I believe a part of you is upset at your father because you could never have betrayed Bella nor will you ever will betray Renesmee in the way your father betrayed your mother. On top of that, you cannot possibly understand how your mother could have forgiven him. I think, however, that you're looking at things from the wrong perspective. Try to see it from your mother's standpoint. If you had been betrayed by Bella, if you were betrayed by Renesmee...could _you_ forgive _them?_"

***

The Rabbit had gotten in yesterday and I used it in the morning to drive up to Port Angeles to buy the food and liquor for the graduation party tonight. I had the money now, and I wanted to do my part. They didn't even card me, though I had planned on using my Jacob Wolfe ID if I had to. I was glad I had thought to take the Xbox controllers when I left the house, because I knew that nothing would get done if the guys had started playing, and I wasn't sticking Leah with cleaning duty, especially if this turned into a party for Sam and Emily.

The boxes that the TV and Xbox had been delivered in were waiting for us at the mansion when we got into town and I had taken them back to the pack house the first night. I had never seen the guys move so fast before. Seth, who must have still been tired from the flight back, had found a drill and began installing the TV with Leah, while Quil and Embry had torn open the box that the console came in, the shrink wrap from the games, and the hard plastic packaging of the controllers. We hadn't slept that night, not that I could have if I had wanted with everyone camped out on my "bed." Even Leah had gotten into the spirit of things, mostly because her reflexes are just as good as ours and she likes kicking our asses at _anything. _

I unloaded the groceries at the house and then dropped the car back off at the Cullens' because I didn't want any of the guys to see it and start asking questions before I could talk to Sam. Nessie made me lunch and then I went back to help set up.

I was surprised when I saw that half of the guys had shown up to help and I wondered how much of that had to with Embry not giving them much of a choice. He was much stricter with his guys than I was with mine, although I guess you'd need to be to control a handful of guys who were under sixteen. I got the feeling they had been pissed at me when they found out the controllers were gone, but someone had put on a movie, so they were pacified.

We all felt the rain coming, so I dug out the two old tarps I had used as a roof back before I had my garage, and we strung one from the back of the house and one from the front of the house to the trees beyond. They're big tarps and a few dozen people would be able to fit under each, no problem. We cleaned the house and moved the furniture up against the walls. An hour before the party, we were done, and Leah went upstairs to get ready. She seemed excited about tonight, and I wondered if she had invited some of her new friends from school.

I ran back to the Cullens' to pick up Nessie. Bella and Alice had been persuasive and they and their husbands would be stopping by the party for a while later in the night. Nessie wanted to go early to pick out my outfit. Esme and Bella were in full cooking mode when I got there. They had trays of potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and fruit salad. They had also husked a mountain of corn for us to grill. I had bought hamburgers and hot dogs, but the most effort I had put into side dishes was clearing out half of the store's supply of chips.

"What's all this?"

Esme came around to give me a kiss on the cheek while Bella pointed everything out. From the simplicity of the menu, I guessed that Bella had decided what to cook.

Bella had helped me carry everything out to the car and I was surprised that there was more stuff in there, already. "What's in the other two trays?"

"Cookies." I smiled widely and she shrugged. "Esme wanted to bake cakes but I figured something that wouldn't need plates or utensils would be better in a house full of wolves. Not that she didn't buy those for you, too." She pointed at an over-sized bag of thick paper plates; a huge box of clear, plastic utensils; four large bags of red, plastic cups; and several packages of dinner napkins.

I laughed. "I didn't even _think_ about napkins."

Bella rolled her eyes. "We figured."

We started back towards the house and I swung an arm over her shoulder. "You guys can bring the bike when you come, right?" She nodded. "Thanks, Bells. For the food, too."

"It was Esme's idea. I think she's a little disappointed she wasn't able to throw you a party, herself."

Esme was drying off the last of the dishes when we came back in. "Did everything fit? Maybe you should take one of the rentals."

"Nah. I'm giving the car to Sam tonight, anyway." I went around to hug her. "Thanks, Mom." She smiled and reached up to stroke my face. I had been running around all day and her cool fingers felt nice.

Nessie came bounding into the house with Edward behind her. She was wearing a red dress with white polka dots and she had three bags in her hands: a small gray Wolf Pack that must have been for Brianna, her new red imprint bag, and a modified imprint bag that she and Alice had designed especially for her camera. Brianna's lack of a bag had given them an excuse to make even more for Nessie. At first they had said it was because she was too big for her old one. But, when they made her ten in different colors, they had said that she needed more than just a maroon one that matched mine, because it would "clash with too many outfits." I have no doubt that I'd have the same ten bags in my size by the time we went home.

"Hey, Edward. Cool dress, Nessie." She spun around, smiling. "You look like Minnie Mouse." She stared at me blankly before looking over towards the computers in the corner of the room. I laughed. She had the periodic table memorized, but she had no idea what dress Minnie Mouse wore. "You can look it up, later. Let's get going." I grabbed her bags and we walked out to the car, shouting our goodbyes over our shoulders.

Embry looked surprised to see that I had the Rabbit, but he was just happy he wouldn't have to ask Leah to borrow her car to pick up Brianna. I tossed him the keys and he sped off. The guys, surprise, surprise, were already in front of the TV when we got there and Nessie sat down in front of my bag to pick out my clothes. She tossed me a pair of underwear and the guys started howling.

"Dude..." They were crawling over each other, laughing. "_Pink?_"

I groaned. Of course. The only pair in the drawer I don't wear and she _had_ to go and pack _those._ I'm never letting her pack for me, again. "Hey! At least I _wear_ underwear." That didn't phase them. Going commando had remained a part of pack life, regardless of the Wolf Pack. "Oh, shut up."

"Sorry," Nessie mouthed at me. I just shrugged. She showed me an image of the guys sitting in the same spots they were now except, instead of laughing, they looked afraid. She looked at me, questioningly.

"That's okay, Nessie." I turned to the guys. "It probably wouldn't be cool if you made them piss their pants right before their girlfriends showed up."

Jared figured out what I was implying, first. Then he _did_ look scared as he was stared wide-eyed at the back of Nessie, who had turned around and continued to go through my clothes. "She wouldn't," he breathed. The others saw his face staring at Nessie, put two and two together, and sobered up.

Nessie just shrugged her shoulders and then turned and handed me a pair of brown khakis, a dark green button-up shirt, and brown leather sandals. As I went upstairs to shower, I saw myself rolling up my sleeves and putting on my watch and bracelet. The shirt was already going to be a pain in the ass when I phased later, but accessories? Really? But, whatever Nessie wants... "'Kay. I'll be down in five," I called down the stairs. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

By the time I rejoined the party, the rest of the packs were there with their imprints. Nessie was already talking to Embry and Brianna.

"Brianna, this is my brother, Jacob." She looked pretty nervous as she smiled at me and glanced around the room. I wondered how many times she'd been around the whole pack in the last six months. Probably not a lot if she wasn't really allowed to hang out with Embry without her cousins there as alibis. I was going to ask Nessie to help calm her or something, but Emily was taking the trays out from the oven where they'd been keeping warm, and she ran to help.

Embry wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. "You hungry, baby?" It was kinda weird seeing Embry with a girl. Not that girls hadn't flirted with him in the past, at school, but he was always so shy that he usually just froze up around them. I think he only managed to introduce himself to Bella three years ago and even that I'm pretty sure he had stumbled over it. It had been Quil that had flirted with her like crazy.

She smirked up at him and went on her tip-toes to tuck his chin-length hair behind his ear and kiss him. "I know _you _are." I laughed and she blushed when she realized I was still standing there and had witnessed them. It was the first time I noticed he had grown his hair out to its usual length and I wondered how much of that had to do with Brianna.

"Yeah, we can really _wolf_ it down." I winked at her and she giggled and seemed to relax a little. Imprints _love_ wolf jokes. The guys and I don't get it, we think they're annoying and not even worth rolling our eyes at anymore, but we figure that the girls like them because they think we're bad-ass, so we play along. I walked away, mostly to find out where _my_ girl had gone, but also because I was starting to think that Brianna was shier than Embry and Kim, combined.

As I walked away I heard her whisper, "He's _huge_." I laughed. Even compared to everyone else, I was still a monster.

I followed Nessie's scent out back where she was taking pictures of all the trays of food and paper goods she and Emily had arranged on a long, collapsible table that Sue must have had lying around. I laughed when I saw that she had wrapped one of the paper napkins around a cut paper plate to make the top of a graduation cap. She had even rolled strips of napkin to make a tassel coming out of the center. That girl spent way too much time around Alice.

Guests started coming in as we packed our plates. Nessie was busy acting like the event photographer, so I sat down and ate with Seth. Embry, Quil, and Paul had invited some of the other people they had graduated with and I had to answer the same questions over and over. _No, I didn't die, I moved. Yes, it is true I moved with Bella Swan when she went away to school. Yes, she _did_ marry Dr. Cullen's son. Of course we're not having an _affair. I really hoped Nessie hadn't heard _that_ rumor. I hadn't realized how much of a scandal it had been in La Push when I had moved. I hadn't really given the guys a cover story to tell everyone, so I suppose I don't really mind that they told them the truth. They turned their attention to Nessie when she came over and sat on my lap for a while. _Yes, she's with me, she's Edward Cullen's ten-year-old niece_. I hoped she heard that and would remember to call Bella and Edward aunt and uncle when they showed up._ Yeah, she is small for her age. _I decided to round her age up, just in case they saw her around La Push when we visited in the future and she looked significantly older.

After dinner, the party turned into three parties in one. First, Leah brought out an old stereo and the backyard became the dance floor. Then, the house became rowdy as someone turned on the Xbox. That left the front yard as the only place you could hear yourself think. Nessie and I headed out there to wait for her parents, but not before she took pictures of the dancing outside and the playing inside. Emily and Sam were the guests of honor out front and most of the Makah and La Push adults were out there with them. My dad was there and we shared an awkward hug. Charlie and Sue looked happy to see us on friendly terms again and I wondered how much I had put them through by having to listen to my dad mope about me.

The other night, after I left Carlisle's office, I had gone back to the living room and asked my dad to come talk to me out back. I had shut the door so the vampires in the next room couldn't overhear. Edward was going to hear, but that was inevitable. Mostly, I didn't want Bella and Nessie to hear from the kitchen. I didn't know where the conversation would go and I didn't want to upset them. My dad had apologized, saying that he never meant to hurt us or my mother, that it was an accident and that he never meant for it to happen but wouldn't wish Embry away for anything. He confessed that he was glad that the truth had finally come out. He had always felt guilty about leaving Embry without a father, especially when he first phased, and he was glad he would finally be able to make it up to him.

That had led us off on a little tangent about the first time I phased and how upset I had been about the whole thing. Another time in my life I had felt betrayed by my father for not willing giving me the information he had. We had a long talk about why I didn't like being a wolf in the beginning, how I had felt like a monster and that it wasn't until I found Nessie that I had truly accepted it. Billy had admitted that he was always jealous of the fact that he was left out of the wolf lifestyle. How his grandfather, Ephraim, had told him the stories when he was younger and he always felt that he could never be a real man like his grandfather until he became a wolf himself.

He had talked about my mom for a while, too. How she had loved it when he would tell her the legends, how she had believed them all wholeheartedly even though a lot of the others their age were already starting to doubt them. He said he always hated it when someone didn't believe them. He felt like they were calling his grandfather a liar. That had allowed me to finally understand why it had always pissed him off so much when I brushed off his comments about the Cullens and called him a superstitious old man.

He had said that he was proud of me, of _both_ his sons, for taking of the responsibility of being an Alpha. He let me in on the meeting that had taken place right after I had left Sam's pack. He, too, had been the only one who thought it was wrong to go after Bella. He said that, even though he never told me, he was proud of the decision I had made and that he didn't know if, at my age, he would have been able to stand up to Sam like I had. He had said that he knew then that I done right by Ephraim and all the other Alphas and Chiefs that had come before us. He admitted that it was then that he began to see me as the true Chief of the tribe and that he was just my placeholder on the council.

Finally, he had told me that he had loved my mother, and still did, more than anything. That, in the end, he regretted the time apart from my mother in their short marriage more than anything he had done during the time. He had said that he had hurt her twice, once when he admitted the affair and then again a few weeks later when he had to tell her that Lily was pregnant. And that, both times, she had forgiven him. He never understood why she had, either, but he wasn't about to question it if it meant he could stay with her. I had told him that I would be lying if I said that I could forgive him as easily as my mom had, but that I did want to work on having a relationship with him. We had left it that, sealing things with a hug and an "I love you."

I was glad that I had shut the back door, because I hadn't told Nessie half of what my dad and I had talked about, later that night. After being up since four in the morning, I had just wanted to crash when Edward drove everyone back to their hotel and Nessie and I got into bed. But Nessie had wanted to talk. We had talked. Well, she had talked while I had made half-hearted grunts and _mmhm_m's in the right places. She seemed to be reliving our day. First, she had talked about me getting my bike in the morning. How excited I had looked, how she had helped Alice pick out my suit, and how she had been amused all last week as she helped me study for finals because she knew I was going to get A's. Then, she had talked about her talk with Jasper. Nothing too deep, mostly she had gushed over how interesting it had been and how he had given her a lot to think about. She had been quiet for a while and I was starting to drift off to sleep when she finally asked, "Do _you_ know how he got his scars?" I had mumbled out a _mmhmm_ and she was quiet again. Finally, very casually she had said, "You and your dad looked like you were having a good talk." There had been silence. "I saw you two hug before you came back in."

I had yawned out a "yeah" and heard her digging into the mattress a little deeper, as if expecting a long story. When I hadn't said anything more, she had sighed.

"Well, what did you talk to Embry and Seth about when you came up after dinner?"

I had started freaking out, glad that she had sat up to talk to me and wasn't touching me. My nervousness had woken me up. The next time I had spoken, my answer was more than one syllable. "I just showed them my room and our study. We didn't really talk about anything. In fact, we were up here watching the game until I talked to my dad." I hadn't wanted to tell her about the Carlisle conversation, either. I never told her about what we talked about during our little nighttime ritual.

She had taken my multiple sentence answer as a sign that I was finally ready to talk and had pried for more. "Well, you talked about Brianna, right? When Seth came down, he told me that you guys had talked about getting her a Wolf Pack, too."

I had yawned and turned my head to look at the time. I had been up for twenty hours. "We must've. I really don't remember," I had lied.

"Jacob," she had whined. "It was four hours ago, how could you not remember?"

"I don't know, Nessie," I had whined back. "I'm_ tired._ Do we have to do this right now?"

"No," she had huffed, finally laying down beside me. "If that really had been all you talked about, though, you wouldn't have been so nervous when I asked." Thankfully, she hadn't said anymore about it and was fine by the next morning when everyone came for breakfast.

Regardless of the fact that she had no idea what had actually gone on with my dad, she was treating him the same as she had six months ago. As we waited, she sat on my dad's lap as she caught Sue up on all she had missed out on in Hanover. She had originally planned on going, but had given her ticket to Seth at the last minute. It was probably for the best. If Bella hadn't been Charlie's daughter, there was no way she would have had anything to do with the Cullens. With her occupied, I took the opportunity to talk to Sam and Emily.

Emily gave me a hug as I walked up to them. "Congratulations, Jacob!" I had said hi to Sam earlier, but she had been busy with some of her cousins. "I heard you turned into some sort of nerd over there." I rolled my eyes. Nessie. Who else would be bragging about me? "Your dad was going on and on about it the last time I talked to him." Huh. That was kinda surprising.

"You're one to talk with your full ride." I gave her a light tap with my fist on the side of her arm which made her lose her balance a little. I laughed, wondering how much she had had to drink. Sam growled at me.

"Yeah, well I never got a 4.0 in high school, so I'm sure you could get the same." Both Sam and Emily were getting scholarships to go to school. There were a lot of government-sponsored help for kids who came from reservations, especially if they went to public colleges. Emily had done really well in high school, but put off college to stay near Sam. She had gotten a full scholarship, but Sam's was only partial. He actually hadn't gotten one right out of high school, even though he had planned on going. He had only qualified for one now because he was going back to school after a long absence. Usually only older women on the rez, mostly single moms, ever applied for those.

"Listen, guys. I know I didn't give you a guys a wedding present."

Emily took a step towards me, swaying slightly, and put a hand on my chest. Sam came up beside her and put an arm around her waist. "Oh, Jake, don't worry about it."

"Well, the thing is. I wanted to give you guys the Rabbit." They just stared at me, so I went on. "It's in good condition. In fact, I just replaced the carburetor and the tires are practically new. Anyway, I know that you would want to come back and forth a lot and I figured that you wouldn't be able to without a car so—"

I was cut off by Emily practically attacking me with a hug as she squealed. Huh. Is this what I looked like when they got me the Spyker? She pulled away from me to look into my face, I guess she's was trying to figure out if I was serious or not. "You're giving us a _car?_" I grinned and nodded. People were turning to stare. My dad smiled at me. Emily squealed again and launched herself at her husband. "He's giving us a _car!_"

Sam looked shocked, but there was something else there, too. Ah. If Emily's reaction was the one Nessie _allowed_ me to have when I got my car for my birthday, then Sam's face was the one I _would_ have had. His face turned into a scowl, clearly torn between seeing Emily this excited about something and not wanting to accept the object of her sudden happiness.

"It was collecting dust in our garage, Sam. Take it." I whispered. Emily was still clutching him, gushing about coming home on weekends and trips up to Neah Bay before they left for school, completely unaware of her husband's internal struggle. "Nessie," I called over my shoulder, without breaking eye contact with Sam. She came up beside me and I picked her up. She was grinning, obviously affected by Emily's enthusiasm. "Why don't you help Sam out a little." I said it softly as I winked at him, Emily was still oblivious. Suddenly, a smile lit up Sam's face. "Too much, Nessie. Sam's never been _that_ happy." He rolled his eyes at us, but the smile stayed in place.

"I'm just projecting what Emily's feeling."

He looked down as Emily pulled away and he stroked her left cheek. Their smiles matched. She reached up to kiss him and then turned to me. After a thank you, a hug, and a kiss on the cheek, she ran off screaming, "Mom, guess what!"

Sam's face was suddenly serious again. "Thank you, Jacob."

Then, to lighten the mood I joked, "Don't thank me yet. VW's don't exactly have the most leg room. I wouldn't want to be you on those three hour drives to Seattle."

He brushed off my attempt at levity as he gripped my upper arm. "Thank you." I just nodded. I understood the pride he had to swallow to accept it. "You're a good man, Jacob Black."

In my arms, Nessie nodded her agreement. I rolled my eyes at her as Sam went to find his wife. "Hey," I called after him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" I tossed him the keys and he grabbed them out of the air.

Nessie rested her head on my shoulder and sighed. "That was nice."

"You know, it kinda was." I agreed.

I heard some of the guys decided to bring out Rock Band and the music inside the house began to compete with the music in the back. All the guests were impressed with the wolves' abilities to score perfects for every song, even on the expert level. We played it off that we practiced a little too much, and they bought it. The only score that never made it over 70% was the vocals. The first night we had played, we had created a band. Quil and I had fought over the drums, but I had won, so he played bass. Embry was lead guitar and that left Seth as the singer. We were surprised when he could actually do it. Then, Leah had tried and we were even more shocked when she sang Hole better than a coked-up Courtney Love.

"Nessie!" Charlie was holding up her new, red purse. "Your bag is singing..._opera!_" I laughed and put her down.

"It's just my ringtone." She pulled her phone out from her bag and, after pressing the screen, put it to her ear. "Hi, Daddy!...Uh huh, I'll tell him....Bye, Daddy!" She turned to me. "Where's Embry?"

"They're on their way?" She nodded. "I think he's inside." We started walking towards the house. Outside, the rain hitting the tarp drowned out the noise coming from the living room. "Hey," I lowered my voice when she turned to look at me. "All these people think Edward's your uncle, remember?" Her mouth turned into an "o" as she realized her mistake on the phone. "Don't worry about it, just be careful what you call them when they're here."

She nodded as I opened the front door for her and I watched her go straight up to Embry. He was sitting on the floor with Brianna between his legs, leaning back against him as they both watched the TV screen, swaying to the music. Nessie whispered something in his ear and he nodded absently. She was walking away before her words caught up to him. "Hey, Nessie? Tell Edward not to worry about that stuff anymore, okay?" She smiled at him and nodded.

By the time we got back outside, Bella and Edward were climbing out of their SUV rental. I was surprised to see that, along with Alice and Jasper, Emmett had shown up, too. While Alice scurried in her heels from the car to the tarp cover, Jasper and Emmett took their time strolling over. Edward and Bella were already saying their hellos. Everyone in the front yard watched cautiously as the beautiful vampires approached them. They relaxed a little when they heard Bella call Charlie "dad," but their eyes widened again when the saw Emmett and the too-large grin he gave me as he came near. As the small group of us laughed at Alice's enthusiastic greetings, everyone else in the front yard seemed to relax a little.

Emmett came over and slapped me hard on the back. "I was promised liquor."

"Emmett," Edward warned, shooting a look at his father-in-law.

Emmett cussed under his breath. "Shit."

Fortunately, Alice spoke up before Charlie could. "I haven't seen Emily since her wedding. Wasn't she a beautiful bride, Sue?" She was saying all this much louder than necessary, but all of Emily's family on the lawn were suddenly warming up to the pale faces who were crashing the party. Alice looked over at Nessie and I. "Do you two know where she is?"

"She must be inside. I'll take you." Nessie walked over to her aunt. "Did you want to come, too, Aunt Bella?" Everyone looked confused for a minute, especially Charlie, but they all quickly righted their faces.

"Great!" Alice answered for the both of them and ended up dragging Nessie and Bella into the house herself.

"Everybody who's drunk is in the backyard," I told Emmett quietly.

"Good man." He hit my back, again, and headed around the house. "Fuck, this place reeks." Thankfully, he was far enough away that none of the other guests heard him. "Jazz? You coming." I concentrated on showing Edward all the questions I had been getting throughout the night about Nessie and then followed Jasper and Emmett around the side of the house.

Immediately, I began to feel light-headed and a little giddy. "Thanks, Jazz." He winked at me and slugged me a little too hard in the shoulder. It looked like Rachel and Kim had dragged their wolves onto the dance floor. Not that the guys seemed to care too much, especially because the girls were slowly getting wasted and dancing was a perfect opportunity to put their hands wherever they wanted. I growled and Paul and Jared looked around, surprised. Paul moved his hands back up to my sister's waist and Jared laughed. Jasper and Emmett laughed, too.

Emmett started dancing in place, completely unembarrassed by the fact that he was dancing off to the side by himself. "Ah, man. I _knew_ Rosie should have come." Jasper and I looked at Emmett like he was crazy. There was no way she'd hang out with a "bunch of dogs" let alone have Emmett feel her up in front of them.

I was surprised Sam and Emily weren't out here, until I remembered that Leah was. There were a lot of people I didn't know and I figured they were Leah's friends. Especially when I saw a few in the corner, smoking cigarettes.

My buzz had gotten stronger as Jasper's proximity to the party had increased. I don't think I could even justify it as a buzz anymore. I was drunk. He moved towards the back door, walking in step to the music. "I'm going to go find my wife."

"Aw, Jazz, don't leave." Emmett whined. We sobered up as soon as Jasper walked inside. Emmett was starting to attract stares from a lot of the girls. He smiled back at one of them and she was too drunk to sense the danger in his sharp teeth. He kept his eyes on the dance floor. "So, who are all these people?"

"Some are people I would have graduated with, some are Leah's friends from school, but most are just kids from our rez and the Makah rez."

"Do you guys always invite them to your parties?"

I figured he was asking about the Makahs. "Not usually. Embry's half, though, and his imprint is from up there, so he invited a lot of people down."

We were standing next to the table that had earlier held the food, but now held the booze. "You boys bought a lot of liquor."

"Yeah, I might have gone a bit overboard." I had never bought liquor before and I had no idea what to get. I bought a couple of cases of beer and the same stuff we had for Sam's bachelor party. People seemed to be okay mixing these things with the 2-liters of soda that were also crowding the table.

"You bought it? Did you get carded?"

"Yeah, I bought it and no, I didn't get carded."

Jasper came out of the house with Alice and they made their way by us to dance. All of a sudden, I was drunk, again. Jasper winked at me and Emmett over the heads of other dancers as Alice started grinding up onto him and we laughed. Emmett was dancing by my side, again. A couple of people started watching Alice and, when she did a complicated dance move, people started catcalling out at her. Kim and Rachel noticed her then and ran over to say hi.

Jasper stood between us and swung his arms up around our shoulders. "I had to get out of there before Alice had me starting an orgy!" That put Emmett and I into hysterics, Jasper joined us.

Jared and Paul were at the makeshift bar, fixing rum and cokes for their girls. "Jazz, work your magic on them." I pointed my chin towards the bar.

Paul noticed the effect first and looked around, confused. Jared was oblivious as he swayed and sang along with the music. His sang louder and louder, missing Paul's questioning stares completely until he missed the high note and Paul laughed at him. They both looked at us when we joined in on the laughter.

Paul's eyes widened as he saw me slapping my knee. "Bro...are you _drunk?_"

I just shrugged with a shit-eating grin on my face. "Are _you?_"

The idiot ignored the hint in my question. "How much did you have to drink?" Emmett giggled at that. "Are _they_ drunk?" Paul still wasn't comfortable with the Cullens and he was talking like they couldn't hear them. "I didn't know they could get drunk!" He turned to hit Jared in the stomach, who was already paying attention. "Jared, man, they're drunk!"

The girls walked over to us. Well, more like they teetered over on their heels. It was odd to see Alice struggle a little in her shoes, although she still managed to maintain a level of grace that my sister and Kim lacked.

Paul was momentarily distracted by Rachel, until he saw what I saw in Alice. "She's drunk, too?"

"Relax, Paul." His eyes somewhat narrowed at my words. Telling Paul to calm down or relax usually had the opposite effect. He heard it from everyone so often that it just pisses him off. He hates being the weakest with his control. "It's Jasper. He's just projecting everyone's drunkenness onto us."

"Nice." Jared bent forward to put out his fist towards Jasper in thanks and Jasper hit it with his. Jared winced a little at the difference in skin temperature. Jasper didn't. He was probably used to my heat. Jared and Paul still hadn't taken a step towards us and I laughed when Jared subconsciously pulled Kim closer and breathed in her scent.

Edward came out of the house looking pissed. He glanced around the backyard, squinting his eyes and temples before walking towards us. Suddenly, I was stone-cold sober. I saw Jared and Paul blink a few times and I knew they were, too. They followed our glances and pulled their imprints away from Alice and back onto the dance floor.

"We're leaving," Edward growled.

Emmett whined in protest. "We just got her, Eddie." Was he still drunk, or just so stupid that he was still pushing Edward's buttons even though his was obviously pissed off?

"If the three of you wish to stay, you can run home. Bella and I are taking Renesmee."

Wait. "What? Why?"

"Because, Jacob, this party is an adult party and she shouldn't be exposed to this." I blinked. What was he talking about? "This, Jacob." He waved his arm around. "Or have you forgotten that she can sense just as much as Jasper?"

"She's been out front the whole time. She hasn't been near any of this. Besides, there are other kids her age here." I know I had seen some girls a year or two older than Nessie a few hours ago.

"Precisely, Jacob. There were families here a few hours ago. It's after ten, though, and most of the families have gone home. Now it's just a typical teenage party. I'm not arguing about this with you. Her mother and I are taking her home." He spun on his heel and stalked off towards the house.

I followed him. "What's so bad about what's going on inside? They're just playing video games." He didn't answer me, he just opened the door and walked through.

As if to prove my point, the living room looked exactly like it did every other night around this time. The guys were spread out everywhere and the equipment was still set up for Rock Band. I was surprised to see Nessie sitting at the drums, but I was shocked to see Bella singing. Edward was, too, and he stopped so suddenly that I almost ran into him. The song had just started and, though she was incredibly hesitant, her alto voice was hitting every note perfectly. I didn't know Bella could sing! Jasper, Alice, and Emmett came through the door behind us and I turned around to see the shock on their faces. When the song finished, Bella handed the microphone over to Emily with a sheepish smile on her face.

Emmett let out a low whistle. "Damn, Bella!"

She whipped around to face us, obviously embarrassed. She caught Edward's stare and smiled shyly. Nessie looked back and forth between her parents and then rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the game as Embry selected another song. Emily was giggling as she hit the top of the microphone to make a cowbell sound and Brianna was looking back and forth from the bass to the screen, her tongue slightly out of her mouth as she concentrated.

When Edward turned towards me, he looked sorta dazed. "Have her home by midnight." He went over to his wife and whispered something in her ear. They said their goodbyes quickly, giving Emily a hug and congratulating Quil and Embry. Soon, Edward was leading her towards the door with a hand on her back and they were gone. I shook my head and tried not to think about what Jasper had said the other day about the honeymoon phase.

I sat on the floor next to Nessie's drum set as Jasper, Alice, and Emmett went back outside. "They say that if you can play the drums on hard in the game, you can actually play the drums." She took her eyes off the screen to look at me, but didn't stop playing. "What level are_ you _playing it on?"

She shrugged. "Expert." I laughed. Quil took over on drums for the next song and Nessie walked with me to the kitchen. I started to reheat some of the macaroni and cheese and as soon as the smell wafted from the microwave, all the guys in the kitchen asked me to make some for them, too. Nessie laughed, turned on the stove, and gave me two unopened bags of chips. "Go give them these to hold them over, I'll reheat the rest." I kissed her cheek, went into the living room, and tossed the bags at Quil's head. Claire must have already gone home.

"Thanks, bro."

"Don't thank me. You guys can starve for all I care. It's Nessie who's reheating the rest for you pigs." There was a chorus of "thanks, Nessie" and I could hear her giggles from the kitchen. I walked back and started in on my snack as she stuck the entire tray into the now-heated oven.

She frowned as she opened one of the trays. "No one ate the fruit salad."

"Yeah, but I bet the cookies are all gone." She grinned and nodded.

"So what's going on out back? My dad seemed upset by what he was listening to."

I shrugged. "Drinking and dancing." She laced an image of Embry and Brianna dancing with a question. Gossiping was a bad habit she had picked up from Alice and it made it worse that she had a fool-proof way of talking about people without them knowing it, even when they were right in front of her. "I don't think she wanted to." She showed me the same image, but with Sam and Emily. She also showed me Emily stumbling around earlier. She knew she had been drinking. "Could you sense it off her?" She sent me the sensation she had felt earlier. Emily wasn't drunk, just a bit tipsy, and Nessie had only really felt it off of her when she was happy about the car. Nessie could tell she was just a little too happy. "Don't tell Edward about that." She rolled her eyes as though it was obvious she wouldn't. I wish I could have a shield. She sent me the first image, again, "Oh." I shrugged, thinking it was obvious. "Leah's out there."

She looked confused. "So?" Oops. Nessie didn't know about the Leah-Sam-Emily love triangle because Nessie didn't know about imprinting. _ Shit! _ Nessie showed me an image of Emily calling a woman "Mom" and then Leah calling the same woman "Auntie." I knew what she meant, she knew they were cousins. Nessie seemed to be lost in thought for a second and then she quickly showed me flashes of all the times she had hung out with Emily and Sam and Leah hadn't been there or had sat as far away from them as possible. She showed me the night before we had left for Hanover, how Leah had stayed upstairs, how she had eaten inside. She showed me how sad and angry Leah had felt at their wedding, how Leah had gone outside and I had followed her, and how Sam had danced with all the bridesmaids but her. "Why? And why are you so anxious?"

I stuffed the last forkful of macaroni and cheese in my mouth, buying some time. "It's just gossip." I tried to calm myself, but I knew she could feel my tension rising. This was it. This was how she was going to find out. Why did I argue with Edward? I should've just left when he wanted her to leave. I needed Jasper.

She looked worried and angry. "I don't believe you! As calm as you're trying to look, you're close to being hysterical. It's bad, isn't it? It's really bad." Her own voice was getting shriller and I forgot for the millionth time that Nessie didn't just _know_ what a person was feeling, she _felt _what a person was feeling.

The timer went off and I felt relieved that she would have to focus on something else right now. Thankfully, my relief became her relief and I raced outside while she went to give everyone their food. Alice was dancing in between her husband and brother and they were obviously drunk. Jasper looked up, first, sensing my distress.

I dragged them off to the side, nervously looking over my shoulder to make sure Nessie hadn't followed me out. The last thing I needed was for her to get drunk on top of everything else. "We're going. I've got to get Nessie home."

"Calm down, Jake." And then he calmed me down. "What's going on?"

Emmett was oblivious to my distress. He rolled his eyes. "Did Edward call? He and Bella finished up and now he wants her home? I gotta say, that did not take long."

Jasper's fake calm wasn't strong enough. "Shut up, Emmett!" He looked surprised at my outburst, but Jasper and Alice didn't. "Christ, Jasper. You've gotta help me out. I'm a wreck."

"You've got to tell us what's wrong." Alice grabbed my hand.

"She's figuring it out, Alice! She's going to figure it out! Edward and Bella are going to kill me! This is _not_ how I wanted her to find out!" I turned to Jasper and felt calmer. "You've got to help me. She's getting suspicious as hell. I can't control my emotions. She's going to find out!" Another wave of calm crashed into me and I was able to take a deep breath. "Thanks. She's asking about Sam and Leah. She's going to find out about imprinting." Alice gasped. "I know."

Emmett looked confused. "So? She finds out. What's the big deal?"

"Edward and Bella." Jasper answered for me. "How did this happen?"

"I slipped." I looked over my shoulder, again. Still no Nessie. "I don't have time for this, she _can't_ come out her. If she asks Leah, there's no way she'd keep her mouth shut."

They all looked back towards the house. Alice still had my hand and she grabbed Jasper's with the other. "Well, then let's go."

We walked in through the back to find Emily and Nessie washing dishes. Emily looked nervous. "Well, Nessie, it's sorta complicated." She caught my eye and shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Nessie," Alice called her name as though nothing was wrong. "We're going home, now."

Nessie looked at me and her eyes narrowed. Please don't look at me like that. It's not my fault. Alice was packing up her camera bag. She pointed out her purse for Jasper to pick up. "Edward said midnight." Her voice was angry and monotone. Emily excused herself and went back to the living room.

Emmett looked sheepish. "Well, uh, I promised your aunt I'd be back by now."

The same hard voice responded. "Did you promise her that _I'd_ be back by now?"

"Uh...no?" Emmett looked at me for support.

I guess it was my turn. "C'mon, Nessie, jus—"

She held up a hand to cut me off. "There's only one thing I want to talk to you about right now, Jacob Black, and you know it. So, unless you're going to tell me the truth, for once, just do yourself a favor and don't say anything else that's just going to piss me off more!" I nodded as I stared at the floor, knowing I looked like an idiot and not caring. Not pissing her off further seemed like a _very_ good idea.

She followed her aunt around, saying goodbye to everyone. The young guys, Emily, and Brianna were all looking down, pretending they hadn't just heard her handing me my ass. Ordinarily, I would have probably been humiliated that the younger guys had just witnessed that, but there were bigger problems in my life right now. Seth, Quil, Sam, and Embry gawked at me with incredulous eyes. It was extremely rare that a wolf fought with their imprint and even rarer that they didn't fall down to their knees, immediately accepting the fault, and beg for forgiveness. They were amazed that _I_ was the one actively keeping the fight going. What's more, everyone but Seth knew first-hand the torture I was going through by having Nessie upset with me.

"I'll bring the pink slip by for you tomorrow, Sam." Nessie turned at the sound of my voice and glared at me. Oh! She didn't want me to talk _at all._ I shut up, only allowing myself to wave goodbye to everyone as I left.

The five of us walked silently to the trees near my dad's house and I went to phase. It took forever with the button-up shirt and when I got back, only Nessie was there. Way to back me up, guys. "I told them all to go on ahead." I nodded my big, dumb, wolf head and we set off.

Over the past year, Nessie's running style had completely changed. She used to run playfully. Jumping over tree roots, spinning in the air after pushing off tree trunks, and, except when she was hunting, she was always giggling. After working with Jasper and playing on the trampoline with Alice, it began to change. She was more acrobatic, only touching the ground to gather momentum. Instead, she flew from tree to tree, launching herself dozens of yards at a time, bending and twisting in space to make it through branches so that they only slightly swayed as though hit by a light breeze. It was beautiful to watch, an air show that defined stealth and grace. She could stay completely out of sight when she wanted by balancing on high branches, moving in the hidden tree tops only when the wind would cover her sounds. It played on the only strengths she had: agility, compactness, and the patience and stillness she had mastered in her defensive training with Jasper. No matter how fast her pursuer may be, they couldn't catch her. One minute she was here and the next she was gone. One minute she was an inch from my snout and the next she was halfway up a tree, or yards ahead of me, or right behind me. She was still playful and she still giggled, showing off more when we were on the way back from a hunt or just screwing around in the woods. When hunting, though, she was serious and deadly. She would snatch deer away from their herd and would have them half-drained by the time the others noticed one was missing. She would stalk mountain lions who _knew_ they were being hunted and would still run straight into her, convinced that she was in the exact opposite direction. Each time, the animal was unaware it had ever taken its last breath. She didn't like going after predators, though, who always seemed to be aware of the hunt more than others. While it was more fun, she always felt a little guilty as she sensed their fear. Her only comfort was that she had been just as afraid as they had. Still, her pride prevented her from luring them into a false sense of security with her power. She said it was cheating and she knew she wouldn't be able to brag about her kill when she got home to Emmett and Jasper.

Tonight, though, her running was slow and boring. She ran beside me and I was only one step above jogging. I wondered why she was dragging it out. I, for one, was anxious to talk to Edward and Bella. I needed their advice, or their permission, I guess. I thought back on the night and felt like kicking myself as I relived my slip-up over and over again. I began thinking about what it was that had started this, anyway. The truth of Sam and Leah's relationship. They were the same age as the twins and Leah was always over. I had heard them giggling about him before. Most of the girls in Sam's grade had had crushes on him. Hell, half the barely-pubescent girls in _my_ grade had crushes on him. Then, one day, Sam and Leah were walking down the hall near the high school classes, arm in arm. Girls moaned and called Leah a bitch.

Half a mile from the cottage, I took a left at a tree as Nessie went right. Suddenly, my thoughts were my own, again.

In my sudden, blinding anger, I came to a too-fast stop. My back legs came rushing forward as they caught up to my half-buried front legs and the mound of dirt in front of me. Nessie turned around a few yards away and started moving towards me. I shook my head violently, and backed away. Never turning my back, I walked until I couldn't see her and calmed down enough to phase. Tonight, I was uncharacteristically thankful for my advanced phasing abilities. I left my shirt off, not willing to deal with buttons on top of everything else, and rolled up the bottom of my pants because my shins were still covered in mud. Why couldn't we be magically clean when we phased back?

I found her pacing right where I had left her. This time, I cut her off when she opened her mouth to speak. I was surprised by the anger I still felt as I growled at her. "God_dammit_, Renesmee! You can't just go around pulling things out of people's _heads_ like that." I pointed my finger at her. "It's. _Not._ _Right._"

She stopped pacing and turned on me. "Not _right? _What's not _right_, Jacob Black, is that my best friend's keeping things from me." The she turned around a muttered, "If I even_ am _your best friend." She turned back around. "Let's see what else you won't tell me. What did you talk about with your dad, Jacob? Huh? What were you talking to Embry and Seth about that night in your room? Huh?" Her voice was getting louder and higher pitched as she went. "How did Jasper get his scars? _Huh? _Once again, everyone else can know everybody's secrets, but me._"_

I rolled my eyes, upset even more by her melodramatics. "Don't change the subject. You shouldn't pry into people's thoughts like that. You shouldn't talk about people in front of their faces, either, even if they don't know you're doing it. And you shouldn't even _think _about scaring people just because they're laughing at someone else's expense." I ticked off the ways she had abused her powers, just in the past few hours. She waved a dismissive hand at me and started walking towards the cottage, again. I followed her, calling after her. "So, don't try to change the subject. If you want to be pissed at me because I won't tell you about Sam and Leah, fine. But you _know_ that you're my best friend, you _know_ that I love you, and you _know_ that I don't treat you like a little kid like everyone else in your family does." I stepped in front of her, blocking off her escape. "So, quit trying to pass it off as the truth, because you _know_ it's bullshit." I didn't care anymore that I was cussing in front of her. If she really was my best friend, and I was suspecting more and more that she honestly was, then she was going to get my anger unfiltered. Exactly like Quil and Embry would have gotten it.

"Do I? You were the asshole telling people that you had moved away to be with your best friend when she started school. That doesn't sound like you were talking about _me_, Jacob."

I rolled my eyes, again. "_So?_ I didn't tell them that you came from a family of vampires, either. Are you bitching about this because you honestly don't think I _see_ you as my best friend or because I didn't _tell_ people you are?"

"Just answer me this, Jacob. Does my mother know about Sam and Leah?" She didn't wait for my reply, she already knew the answer. My chin hit my chest. "Did she find out on her own? Did Sam tell her? Leah? Emily? Or was it her best friend, Jacob Black?" She took the silent slump of my shoulder as a confession. She shoved a finger as close to my face as she could get it from two feet below me. I unfocused my eyes from it and stared at the ground. "Now who's full of shit?"

I finally looked into her eyes and saw the anger and hurt there, but I also saw the inherent intelligence and, for once, I _really_ understood what it meant. She _wasn't_ a little kid. We could take each other's bullshit and put the other in their place. She had become my equal. Screw that, _we _had become equals. Suddenly, I _wanted_ to tell her. I didn't want to be alone in this, anymore. I wanted a partner, I wanted _her_ as a partner. Because she would be there for me just as much as I would be there for her. Because I knew she could handle the hard stuff. Because I wanted to share more than just _time_ with her, I wanted to share _me_ with her. I felt so guilty for all the times she had given her thoughts to me alone, and I couldn't give mine in return. So, tonight, she was going to find out about imprinting. About our forever. And I was relieved.

She must have felt my mood change because both of our breathing and heart rates slowed as we calmed. We stared into each other's eyes, not speaking, just silently tasting this new mood. We were so absorbed in it that we didn't notice Edward until he was half a second away from us. At the same time, we severed our eye connection and turned our gaze towards him. He was wearing his shirt unbuttoned and it flew out like a cape as he ran. My thoughts had obviously interrupted something. Bella was a few steps behind him, her hair disheveled as she called after her husband. He must have just dressed and ran out without telling her anything.

Immediately, he was in front of me, dragging my unresponsive body by the neck. With lightening speed and just enough force to knock the wind out of my inhumanly strong body, he slammed me into a tree. I heard it splinter down the middle, but it didn't topple as he held me there, growling up into my face. "How _dare_ you speak to my daughter that way! You will get down on you knees and beg for her forgiveness, dog. Do you understand me?" I couldn't give a response. My body, now desperate for oxygen, wasn't getting it with his hand cutting off my air supply. Damn, bloodsucker knew right where to pinch it off, too. He stared at me fixedly with cold, jet black eyes as my thoughts and body cried out for breath.

Bella had given up asking Edward what was going on, so she asked Nessie, instead. But, she couldn't get any information out of her, either, because Nessie was already trying to break free of her mother's grasp to run towards us. I could see over his shoulder that they were both screaming at Edward to let me go, but Bella wasn't about to release her daughter to tear him off of me. She probably didn't have the strength to do it, either. There were tears running down Nessie's face and I wanted to tell her to calm down, that I was going to be fine, that I loved her.

My body was screaming at me to phase. My entire frame shook as it sensed I was in danger and longed to do the one thing that might give me the advantage. I was torn. On one hand, he'd have to let me go and I probably wouldn't cause him any harm. On the other, it would probably start a fight and I wasn't going to risk hurting Nessie if either of us were injured. Besides, with my luck, half my pack would be phased and would try to rush in to save the day. The last thing I needed at this point was a war on my hands. Especially when Embry had all but erased the treaty line today. The sky, Nessie's face, and Edward's shoulder all became spotted, so I just closed my eyes and allowed myself to be comforted by the knowledge that I would soon pass out. I prayed that, at the last second, pure instinct wouldn't kick in. _Don't phase_, I chanted to myself. _Don't phase._

***

I came to half-hanging off the couch in the living room of the cottage. I knew as soon as I woke up that Nessie must have been exiled to the main house because I couldn't hear her heartbeat and because Bella and Edward were arguing. Loudly. My head hurt and I cursed the fact that no matter how good my immune system was, I could still get headaches.

"Did you even_ think_ about your daughter?"

"Of course I did. Why do you think I was—"

"The look on her face.... I've never seen her that upset, Edward. You need to apologize to h—"

"_I _need to apologize? If anyone needs to—"

I tuned them out and sat up, swinging my legs until they were flat on the floor. The blood rushed to my head and I leaned against the back of the couch. Ugh. The flowing blood made the throbbing pain in my head worse. I stretched and stood up quickly, forgetting where I was. One of the low beams on the ceiling now had an indent in it the size of my head. I bent forward and grabbed my skull as I howled. "Ow!...Dammit!...that _hurt!_" Between the dizziness from sitting up and the head thumping, I felt like my head was going to split in half.

"Jacob?" Bella was suddenly at my side. She put a hand on my arm, gripping it in comfortingly. "Are you okay?"

I sat back down again. This toy furniture she had in here was uncomfortable and my knees were nearly at my chin. I buried my head in my hands and mumbled out, "I've been better, Bells."

She sat down next to me on the arm of the couch. "I'm sorry about Edward."

I held up my hand. "Don't." I was trying very hard not to be extremely pissed off. I didn't need her apologizing for him. "Anyway, we have more important things to talk about. Where is he?"

"He went to the main house to get Carlisle." Carlisle had flown in the night before after finishing his shift at the hospital. He was taking a week's vacation from the hospital and they thought he and Esme were going to Hawaii. I'm sure everyone would be shocked when he came back just as pale as he had left. "I figured you wouldn't want Edward to be the one checking for a concussion."

"Why would I have a concussion? You can get one from passing out?"

Bella looked down at her hands on her lap. "Well, once you...went limp, he didn't exactly gently lay you on the ground."

I groaned. "Well, I hope Carlisle brings aspirin."

"I did." Carlisle came in through the front door and, when he saw me, he shot a glance at Edward, who was nodding guiltily towards the ground. He picked up the ottoman from the fireplace, set it down in front of me, and sat on it. "How are you doing, son?"

I shrugged. "It's just a headache." He took out a penlight and made me follow it with my eyes. Then, he started at the base of my neck and put gentle pressure all along my skull. I winced when he got to the bump at my crown. "That's a new one. I hit it on these stupid hobbit ceilings."

"Hey." Bella hit my arm. "Those are _my_ hobbit ceilings you're talking about."

Carlisle chuckled. "Well, you don't have a concussion." He pulled out a bottle of water from his bag and handed me two pills. "These should help."

I took them from him, but I didn't bother opening the bottle. "How is she?" Edward growled from the doorway, but Carlisle and I ignored him. His wife shot him a look.

"Bella had only dropped her off five minutes before Edward came back for me. She was hysterical when she first came in, but Esme managed to calm her down. She, uh, didn't react well when Edward arrived."

I snorted. No, I guess she wouldn't. I was still only talking to Carlisle, though I was aware that Bella and Edward would get caught up to speed, too. Right now, he was the only somewhat objective opinion in the room, and I wanted to hear what he'd say. "I slipped up at the party. She asked me why Sam and Emily weren't dancing and I told her that it was because Leah was out on the dance floor. She started putting things together and I freaked." I had told Carlisle about Sam's story. He also knew, like the rest of the family, that Nessie didn't know about imprinting.

Bella gasped but Carlisle just nodded. "Jasper and Alice told me. What we don't know is what happened after they ran home ahead of you two."

"We were just running. Well, we were jogging, really. I couldn't figure out why she was lagging behind until we split up around a tree and I realized she had been listening to my thoughts. I was pissed and she was _still _pissed. We got into a fight. We'd only ever had one fight before, a few months ago, but it wasn't as bad as this. I accused her of abusing her powers...which she does, by the way...and she called me an asshole." I looked down, shaking my head and laughing with a big, goofy grin on my face as I thought about how Nessie had looked when she had called me an asshole. Carlisle looked amused when I met his eyes, again. "She values honesty and justice, eh?" He nodded, remembering his own words from the other night. "It's not fair for her not to know, anymore." I turned to Bella. "I want to tell her the truth."

Bella bit her lip. "How much of the truth, Jake?"

I laughed but she looked serious. "Are you kidding me, Bella? The_ truth_. You know, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"You want to tell her _everything?_"

"Absolutely not." It was the first time Edward had spoken to me since I'd passed out.

"Why not? Afraid you won't look too good? Maybe you should have thought about that _before_ you ran away and broke Bella's heart."

"Hey!" Bella tried to defend her husband, like always, but we both ignored her.

"You think the story makes _you_ look good, mutt? Or were you planning on leaving out the two times you kissed her mother? Once without her permission and the other time while she was under extreme coercion."

Shit. He kinda had me there. I mean, I never thought that it would go great when we finally did tell her everything, but if she didn't talk to me for a week because I took Bella to Homecoming, what was she going to do when she found out I had kissed her? I doubt the fact that she wasn't even born yet would be a valid excuse to Nessie.

"If I may?" Carlisle looked between us. "Bickering like this isn't helping to solve the problem. Don't forget that Nessie is pacing the floor right now while the three of you try to decide what to tell her. And, please, Jacob, take your medicine." He picked up his bag from the floor and went out the door.

"Oh." I had completely forgotten about the pills in my hand. I opened the bottle and drank, swallowing the pills and gulping the rest. Nessie and I were the only two who drank water, but there were always bottles in the house. They weren't the regular plastic bottles of water, either. They were bright blue, bowling-pin shaped, glass bottles with metal, screw-top lids. It's name was in a different language, but the labels were all in English. They were pretty fancy looking and I hated taking one to school. I never took it to basketball practice, though. The guys would've ripped into me. Instead, I bought a sports drink and a water before practice at one of the vending machines near the gym. Nessie would drink one every once in a while. She didn't mind drinking water because it was flavorless. It was one of her tricks for when she wanted to look more human. Earlier, she had brought a bottle to the party and had sipped on it in front of Charlie. Even though we were the only two who _drank_ them, others in the house _used_ them. Emmett liked to come back from a hunt and pour one over his head, just to be obnoxious. Alice rinsed off the shampoo from my hair with it before she gave me a haircut, so I assumed she and Rosalie both used it to rinse their hair, too. I had even seen Esme fill the ice trays in the freezer with it, once.

Bella spoke as I finished off the water. "So, we tell her about imprinting, but nothing else?"

"I don't know." As much as it would suck, I still wasn't sure telling her everything was completely off the table.

Edward sighed from the doorway. His hands were in his hair and he was obviously frustrated. "Why do we have to tell her _anything?_"

Bella stared at him incredulously, I rolled my eyes. "Look, if you don't want to tell her the whole story, we have to tell her something now, or else she'll just go picking for it in our heads until she knows everything. Besides, she already found out that Leah and Sam dated. She knows the beginning of the story and it wouldn't be hard for her to find out the rest from any of the guys or from any of us. She already knows that whatever we are is the same as Sam and Emily and I don't want her to find out something that important from someone else. I don't care if you're behind me or not on this. I _am _telling her."

Bella had been nodding her head as I spoke. "I'm with you, Jake. She's too young to know everything. At this age, she can't possibly understand the intentions behind any of our actions in the past, but she deserves to know the truth about her own life."

"Okay, then." I hit the top of my thighs with my palms. "I'll go get her." No one objected and I was glad. I needed to apologize before we did anything else and I didn't want to do it in front of anyone else.

"Yes, you do." Edward growled as he moved away from the door.

I ignored him as I opened it. Then I thought of something and turned around. "Bells?" She looked up. "You might want to brush your hair." I winked as I grinned at her.

I saw Nessie before I got to the stream in the backyard, her backlit silhouette was pacing the length of the back window-wall. She looked up as I crossed the stream, threw open the back door, and ran straight to me. She jumped and I opened my arms. Wrapping her legs around my torso, she hugged my neck, kissed my cheek and then leaned back to frantically check over my face. "Oh, Jacob! Are you okay? I was so scared! Did he hurt you? Why didn't you _phase?_ Oh, I could _kill_ Edward right now! He was angry and I was angry and it was too much and I couldn't calm him!"

I pet her hair back from her face and smiled at her and her nervous burst of questions, confessions, and threats. "Calm down, honey, I'm fine. I just took a little nap."

She rolled her eyes at my nonchalance but she smiled widely as she realized I was perfectly healthy. She hugged me, again, burying her face in my neck. When she lifted her face again there was a mock stern expression on it and she poked me hard in the chest as she spoke. "Next time you're in trouble, Jacob Black, you better phase."

I grinned and shook her in my arms. "Oh, yeah? Or what?"

She grinned back. "Or else I'll kick your ass and show all the guys how you cried." I knew she was testing me, seeing if I'd scold her, but I didn't and I wouldn't. Best friends don't act like they're your mother.

"Pssh. Yeah right. You and what army?" I hadn't said that in years, but I knew it probably had been to Quil or Embry, and it felt right to say it to her, now. A pinching war ensued which left us on our backs, panting on the wet grass, side by side. "Truce," I called out, between gasps.

"Truce," she agreed. She sat up first, crossing her legs under her, and I knew I needed to apologize. I sat up, too, getting into the same position she was in. She didn't look at me and I know we were both remembering how it was that we had gotten to this point in the first place. She was plucking grass out and letting it float on the wind. I grabbed a single strand from her, put it in between my two thumbs and blew. Her eyes lit up at the sound. "How'd you do that?" I showed her. "Like a _reed_." She hit her forehead with her hand. "That must be where they got the word from, huh?"

I shrugged. "You're asking the wrong guy, Nessie."

She looked at me for a second, appraisingly, and I shifted under her stare. "You're smarter than you think you are, you know. You're smarter than everyone else I've met, outside my family."

I beamed a little on the inside and then felt stupid for hiding my pleasure in what she had said when she'd know it, anyway. So, I smiled at her and she smiled back. Her comment had reminded me of the time Bella had called me beautiful and how I had held onto that for months, hoping it meant that there was a chance for me. I knew I'd do the same with this compliment. I'd hold onto it, hoping it meant that there was a chance I was good enough for her. Unfortunately, it also reminded me of the compromise I had just made with her parents, and why I had to apologize in the first place.

"Look, Nessie. I am an asshole, but it's not because I was telling people that Bella was my best friend. I do feel shitty about that, though, because she's not. _You_ are."

She shrugged, looking at the grass. "_I_ knew that." She looked up at me, intently staring into my eyes. "I don't think you did until earlier tonight, though."

"No," I admitted. "I didn't and I'm sorry. I'm _really_ sorry for keeping things from you and I promise that that's all going to change tonight." But then I thought about how I was still going to keep secrets from her and winced. "I guess that's not even true, though." I sighed. "But some secrets aren't mine to tell, and I won't tell you those." I knew she'd think about Jasper's scars, but I was thinking about what her parents and I were going to keep from her. And it wasn't all mine, it was theirs, too. Something told me that one wasn't going to come out unless all three of us agreed. "I'm sorry I made everyone lie to you." She looked up. Oops. I guess she hadn't really known that, huh? "The pack obviously knows everything, and I told them not to tell you." I saw her hands clench in the grass. "You'll understand why later. At least, I hope you do. That's why Emily wouldn't tell you about Leah." I didn't know what else to say. "I am sorry."

There was silence for a minute. "But you're going to tell me the truth from now on?"

I looked into her eyes and eagerly nodded my head, begging her to see the sincerity behind it. "I swear I will. As long as it's my truth to tell."

"You keep saying that." I just nodded. "You feel sad when you say it, too."

"That's because I wish I didn't have to. I wish I _could_ tell you everything."

She studied me for a moment and then nodded. "I forgive you."

I beamed at her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Thank you, Nessie."

I was about to get up when she spoke. "I'm sorry, too." Huh? "I shouldn't steal thoughts from you."

"Stealing, eh? Is that how you see it?"

She nodded, shamefully. "And I'll try not to gossip anymore."

Any other time, I would've snorted, but I saw how serious she was and took her words for what they were. I knew it would be hard, especially with Alice around. "I know you were desperate and that's why you did it. I know you'll try not to do both, anymore."

"So you forgive me?"

"Of course." It was her turn to beam at me. "Ready to go?"

She looked confused. "Go where? I thought you were going to tell me about Leah and Sam."

I grabbed her hand. "It's a really big thing I kept from you, honey. Your parents want to be there when you find out."

Her eyes widened. "Is it that bad?"

I laughed and smiled widely. "Honey, it's not bad at all. It's the exact opposite of the worst thing I could tell you."

She looked confused, but smiled at my smile. Then she pouted. "So, why do I have to see Edward, then? If it's a good thing?"

It was actually a good question. It had nothing to do with them. It really was between us. No. I really needed to take her. I rolled my eyes at her. "Come on."

She smiled crookedly as I stood and yanked her to her feet. "You were thinking about it, though."

I smirked back. "I was."

Everything was quiet when we got to the cottage. The door was open and I could see Edward pacing while Bella stared off into space. He turned when he saw us and looked like he was going to say something, but stopped when he looked at Nessie. I didn't want to know what kind of look he was getting. Both of us ignored him and I smiled at Bella, letting her know that everything had been worked out. Bella was already sitting in one of the chairs so Edward grabbed the ottoman Carlisle had sat in and used it to sit down in front of her. I sat on the too-small sofa and Nessie sat beside me, squirming until she gave up and just sat on my lap. We laughed. It was like the room had been cut in half. Our side was bright and sunny, we were practically beaming at each other, still high from our make-up. Their side was dark and cloudy, they were stiff in the seats and obviously not on good terms with each other.

"So..." Bella said, slightly cautious of our easy attitudes. "You two made up?"

"Uh huh." Nessie answered for us and then her patience reached its breaking point and she turned to me. "So, what's the story with Seth and Leah?" She turned on the voice every girl has for gossip, it got higher and drawn out. "They _dated?_" I laughed, thinking about how quickly her promise not to gossip had gone straight out the window.

"Yep. They were together for two years."

"Then what happened?"

"He turned into a wolf one day and couldn't change back for two weeks."

"What did she do?"

"She and his mom went looking for him, thinking he had gone missing or something."

"What happened when he came back."

"Well, I won't tell you what Leah told me, because she trusted me with it, but I'll tell you what I know from that time and from what I've seen in Sam's head." She nodded, eager for me to move on. Good gossip never gets old. "So, he came back and they tried to work things out, even though he couldn't tell her."

"Why didn't he?"

"Why don't you tell people you're half vampire?" Her mouth opened into an "o" and I nodded. "Anyway, they still loved each other, so they kept dating. Everyone in town thought they were going to get married. Sam and Harry Clearwater were really close. Then, one day, Leah's cousin Emily came into town to visit..." I trailed off, knowing the punchline was going to mean so much more this time I told the story than any other time before.

"And she stole him from Leah?" Nessie's eyes were wide, probably seeing her friend in a completely different way.

"No. God, no, Nessie. In fact, she tried not to be with Sam for a long time."

"So, Sam pursued her? Poor Leah."

Truer words. "Just don't let her hear you say that." She nodded, knowing exactly how bad that would be. I decided to put off the punchline for as long as I could. "Sam fell in love with Emily and broke up with Leah. He was so in love with her that he told her he was a wolf. He knew that if there was one person in the world he could tell, it would be her. One day, Sam went to see Emily and they got into an argument. Sam tried to explain how much he loved her and Emily told him that, even though she loved him, too, she wouldn't be with him because of Leah. Sam was upset and couldn't control his anger."

Nessie gasped. "Her scars," she whispered.

I nodded. "He phased and she was too close. He hated himself, still does, sorta. Emily couldn't stand to see him so down on himself. She knew how much he loved her because she felt the same way and she knew how much he would blame himself. She began to go see him because it was the only thing that made him happy and because it made her happy, too. It took a really long time, but they finally worked things out. Leah was still unhappy, but she put on a brave face for her cousin, who had always been more like a sister to her. Just like she put on a brave face as a bridesmaid in the wedding."

Nessie slumped a little on my lap. "Wow." No kidding.

I paused, realizing I had put off the punchline for too long. "There are more stories like that, if you want to hear them." She nodded up at me, grinning. "They aren't as dramatic," I warned, "but their endings are just as nice." I thought back. If Sam was the first... "Jared phased while he was still in high school, too. The day after he came back, he sat in the same seat he always sat in, next to the same people he always sat next to. For the first time, though, he noticed Kim. He found out after they fell in love that she had always had a crush on him. Jared told Kim all about being a wolf, too." Technically, Quil imprinted next, but I figured I should save his story until the end. "Want to hear another?" She nodded, still smiling, but she was staring off into space. "Paul phased after Jared and Sam and for a while it was just the three of them. Paul's my age but I always hung out with Quil and Embry, so he never really went over to my house or anything. Which means he didn't really meet my sister until she came back home from college. She graduated the summer before you were born and went to a bonfire on the beach. Paul saw her there asked her to take a walk. Rachel says she fell in love with him on the walk, Paul fell in love with her before then." I could tell that the similarities were starting to kick in. Her smile was slowly falling from her face, but it wasn't turning into a frown which I took as a good sign. Instead, her face was becoming more and more confused. "Embry's story is kinda funny. Embry went to a New Year's Eve party last year and saw a girl named Brianna. He was so overwhelmed by the feeling he got when he saw her, that he wandered out the back door in a daze and followed his three friends to the beach without even knowing what he was doing or where he was going." I paused. "Remember?"

She nodded. "Does Quil have a story?" She was whispering.

Here we go... "Of course. Quil always thought of himself as a ladies man. He was always lifting weights because he thought girls would like his muscles. So, after he became a wolf, we all laughed at him when he went to Emily's house one day and a little girl named Claire was there..." I trailed off as her eyes opened in shock.

She was still staring at the same place on the wall when she asked, "What is it called?"

"Imprinting."

"Is is the same for everybody?"

"Kinda. They all felt like gravity had moved. That the center of their world was their imprint."

She swallowed. "And for you?"

I swallowed, too. "For me it was like the universe was perfectly clear for a second and I could see that its symmetry was centered around_ my_ new gravity. That the only thing that was holding me to earth was a little vampire-girl and the million steels cables that bound me to her."

"I remember." Her voice was small and her eyes were still unfocused, but there were tears there, now. "You were walking down the stairs and you were so sad and I wanted to go to you. But then you looked at me and you looked mad and then shocked and then so...happy. And then we smiled at each other."

"And then we smiled at each other," I agreed.

"What happens to Claire when she grows up?"

I smiled and Edward cleared his throat. I had almost forgotten they were there and I so I just continued to ignore him. "What do you _want_ to happen to Claire when she grows up?"

She smiled and the movement in her face caused the tears in her eyes to fall. "I want Quil to fall in love with Claire and I want Claire to fall in love with Quil and I want them to be together forever."

"Well, Quil only wants what will make Claire the happiest. So, if that's what Claire wants, I'm _positive_ that Quil will fall in love with her. And I _know_ that Quil and Claire will be together forever."

She finally looked at me and we smiled like fools at each other. I wiped the tears from her face as she whispered, "Really?"

She wiped the tears from mine. "Really."

She giggled. "Just like that?"

I held my giggle back and nodded. "Just like that."

And then we collapsed against each other in a fit of giggles that turned into chuckles that turned into the most beautiful laughter I've ever heard. When we finally caught our breath there were still tears falling down our faces and I couldn't tell if it was from the pure emotion we were caught up in or the laughter itself. She sat up and turned around so that she could wrap her arms around my neck.

I felt her breath on my ear before I heard her say the words. "I love you, Jacob."

I put my forehead on her shoulder and whispered, "I love you, too, Renesmee."

***

And then she pulled away and slapped my arm. "I should be so pissed at you right now."

"But you're not."

She shook her head. "That was, without a doubt, the _exact_ opposite of the worst thing you could have told me."

We chuckled together, again. I was still laughing when she gasped. "What?"

"Uncle Jasper said...but that means...you're my _mate!_"

Across the room, Edward roared. "You're just a _child_, you don't even know... _Renesmee!_ You take that off of him. _This. Instant!_"

"_No!_" She yelled back.

Bella and I sat in the middle of chaos, wondering how it had erupted around us so quickly. I felt Nessie clutch my hand and then I heard her voice in my head. _He is so pissed off right now!_

As surprised as I was by the fact that she wasn't showing me an image, her voice was what took me off-guard. It didn't hold the glee I thought it would, especially considering how upset she had been at him earlier. Instead, it was tight with anger.

Then, I felt it. I could tell she was projecting it at me because my thoughts have _never_ matched this level of blind fury. I growled inhumanly and started shaking, suddenly an instant away from phasing, before it cut off.

In my right mind, again, I held her to me and remembered what she had told me earlier. So, I screamed at Edward, "Calm down! She can't handle your anger. That's why she couldn't calm you earlier, it's too much for her. Especially because she's angry enough herself."

Bella seemed to take in my words and she pushed Edward out the front door, who didn't look like he was causing much resistance. The father and daughter were still staring each other down, each panting with their overwhelming rage. Nessie was growling softly under her breath and Edward's arms and fists were tight and stiff as stone. I saw Bella push him into the trees and then they were gone.

Nessie's body relaxed next to mine and her rage-filled panting turned into desperate gasps for air. I massaged circles in her back and tried not to be as worried as I was. _She's fine, Jacob. She's fine, now._ I took deep breaths as massaged her back with one hand and stroked the length of her arm with the other.

After a few moments she was still and I knew she was okay. Now it was my turn to be angry. I grabbed her arms and made her look at me. "_Never_ project anger at a werewolf, again! Half a second more of that and I would have exploded. Promise me, Nessie. Any other wolf, and it would have been instantaneous. Promise me!"

Her eyes were wide and I was sorry I was scaring her, but it had to be done. If anyone else had been sitting next to her, she would have been toast. For the third time in only a few hours, I was so damn happy that I had such good control.

"I promise, Jacob."

I hugged her to me. "Oh, Nessie, what were you _thinking?_ You knew your father would go off like that. What else did you do that made him so mad?" I was hugging her too close to my body and I couldn't hear her muffled reply. I pulled her away. "What?"

She grinned at me. "I said, I put my shield up around you." And then she laughed and I laughed, too.

"Oh, man! No wonder he was so pissed off. Why did you do it, though?" She shrugged, embarrassed. "Hey, c'mon. Haven't we been through enough tonight?"

"Well, I was just thinking about what Uncle Jazz was telling us the other day about mates. It's just that he said vampires mate for eternity and if I already know that I'm going to be with you forever, then..."

"That's true, I guess. I didn't think of that when he said that, even though I knew you were my imprint. I guess 'imprint' is just a fancy way we wolves say 'mate'. But that doesn't explain why you put your shield around me."

"Do you like that he can hear your thoughts?"

"No. I don't think anyone does."

"Exactly. If my dad met someone who could read _his_ mind and my mom knew he didn't like it, wouldn't she shield him?"

"But you've known since you've had the shield that I don't like your dad reading my mind."

"Uh huh. But I didn't know you were my mate then, did I?" She smirked and shrugged a shoulder. "Your fault for not telling my sooner."

I laughed. Her logic, funnily enough, made sense. "What are some of the others perks?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm perk enough."

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "You really are." Then, I remembered something else that had happened during all the chaos, but I heard Edward and Bella running back and kept my mouth shut.

Edward entered the cottage first, meekly. He walked back to the ottoman and sat down. Bella sat down on the chair behind him.

"Renesmee," She turned to look at her father, but crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm sorry I allowed myself to become so upset. I put you in unnecessary danger, especially since you chose to project our anger on to Jacob. I don't think you understand how volatile werewolves can be. You should nev—"

"Jacob already spoke to me about that. I won't project anger on to wolves ever again."

That seemed to take the wind out of his sail. "Oh. Well...good." He looked towards Bella who motioned for him to go on with her head. "Your mother and I agree that you shouldn't be using the word 'mate' when you speak about Jacob. You're far too young to comprehend all of the meanings—"

"No." When her parents looked at her blankly, she went on. "He is my mate and I am his. And if we would like to refer to each other as such, we shall." I always loved it when she talked to her dad the way he and Carlisle talked to everybody else. She sounded so cool, so _smart_. She usually only does it when they're talking about a book they've read or some other thing she had learned in her studies. Sometimes I'm convinced that that's the way she actually speaks in her head and she just dumbs it down for the rest of us.

Edward sighed and clasped the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Bella put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Your father and I will talk to you about this later."

Nessie shrugged. "As long as you don't expect my answer to change."

Bella ignored her comment. "Do you accept your father's apology?"

"Nope. Not until he apologizes to Jacob."

I grabbed her hand. "You don't need to—"

"No," Edward cut me off. "She's right. I've behaved atrociously all night. I knew she was safe at the party, even if I didn't want to admit it."

_What happened at the party?_ Her voice was inside my head again, and I shook my head. _Tell me later?_ I nodded.

"...I should never have resorted to violence in that way and I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Edward. I don't think you've ever heard us argue before. I want you two to know that I'm done playing her babysitter, though. I'm not going to scold her if she does something I know you wouldn't approve of. I'm going to stop her from do anything dangerous because _I_ won't stand there and watch her do it, but I'm not going to do it because it's what _you _would want me to do. We're equals and I won't help raise my best friend.

"You should also know that it's not the three of us on one side and her on the other, anymore. If she's unhappy with you, I'm not going to defend you to her. I'm not going to be impartial, either. We're a united front now. She calls us mates and I understand why that puts you off, because it implies an adult-like relationship. But you two know it's not romantic between us and you need to understand that she's not a little kid, anymore. Regardless of what you want to call it, when Nessie calls it that what she means is that we have just as much of a right to be seen as a unit within the family as you guys or Carlisle and Esme or Jasper and Alice or Emmett and Rosalie do. It's not fair to put us on a lower level when our commitment and our love is just as strong. We're also not doing family meetings without her, anymore, for the same reason. Right, Ness?"

I looked over at her for the first time since I started my little spiel and saw that she had tears in her eyes and one of the biggest smiles I'd ever seen on her face. "Right, Jake." She winked at me and I heard, _Thank you._ _That was perfect._

She stood up. "Well, I guess I accept your apology." But she didn't go and hug him, like I knew she would have if she actually was okay with him. His face fell as he realized that, too. "I'm going to go pack so that I can stay at the pack house." Bella and Edward looked back and forth at each other, not sure whether to accept this or not. "If you guys are just going to leave me alone in the house all night while you're off in the woods somewhere, I'd rather be sleeping in a house full of smelly werewolves." She grinned at me. "You coming?"

I walked down the hall after her and lay across her tiny twin bed. She was pulling things out of her closet and packing them in her Louis Vuitton overnight bag. I was still using the rolling luggage Alice had bought for me when we went to Boston last September. "What time is it?" I knew it had to be late, but I wasn't tired at all. In fact, I was pumped. It felt good to stand up to Edward for a change.

"Just after one." She walked into the bathroom with a toiletries bag with the same design as her overnight bag and started packing things from the counter in there. It wasn't too late and I wondered if the party was still going strong.

"Those two bags are all you're taking, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"'Cause I don't have a car anymore. You're going to have to run with them. And your camera bag and your purse."

"Oh, my purse. Thanks for reminding me." She walked into the closet, took out an all-black Wolf Pack, and packed that, too.

"What do you need that one for?"

"The red one I wore today doesn't match tomorrow's outfit." I rolled my eyes. She stuffed the toiletries bag into the larger bag and struggled with the zipper until it closed. "Perfect. Let's go. We have to stop by the main house, though, I left my other two bags and your Wolf Pack there."

Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about that. I had taken it off to change and hadn't put it back on while we were arguing. For the first time since I woke up, I looked down at myself. I wasn't wearing a shirt and there was a layer of dried mud covering my legs and feet below the folded-up hem of my brown pants. It seemed like a long time ago that I was dressed for a party.

"I look like a mess, don't I?" She giggled, nodding. "Oh well. Let's go." I carried her bag for her out to the front room. "Bye, guys."

Edward turned to face us, scowling. He wasn't going to tell her she couldn't leave, but he obviously didn't like letting her go. "We want her back by breakfast."

I rolled my eyes. It was like they hadn't heard a word I had said. "Why are you telling me? If she's not back for breakfast it won't be because I'm not. Esme promised me french toast tomorrow."

It was Bella who finally addressed her daughter. "Renesmee, we'd like you back in time for breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay, Mom. Have a good night."

I ran without phasing towards the main house as she sprang and giggled through the trees, backtracking so I could keep up with her. When we got to the river, I asked her to hold on as I lifted my pants up so they were past my knees, and waded across to rinse off the dried mud. I stopped her before she got to close, not wanting her to feel what I suspected was going on in the house. "Where are the bags? I'll get them and the keys to one of the rentals if you wait for me by the cars." Five minutes later, I was turning the key in the ignition.

"Hey, Jake? Are you tired?"

I turned in my seat to smile at her. "Not in the least."

She grinned back. "Good. We're celebrating!"

I laughed. "What did you have in mind?"

She didn't even hesitate. "Let's go to our island!"

"Perfect." I thought about what else we could do and a slow smile went across my face. "Mind going the long way?"

She turned to look at me, probably sensing my excitement. Then she smiled. "No. Why?"

"You'll see." I turned off the highway before hitting Forks and drove the typical way to La Push, but stopped the car and pulled over a few miles south of town. I turned the engine off, opened the car door, and said, "Wanna go cliff diving?" She grabbed her bag and together we walked to the edge overlooking the ocean. The storm had passed a few hours ago and the waves were already calming down. I took off my pants, folded them, and put them in the waterproof section of my bag. I wasn't going to phase until I hit the water and I wasn't going to bother taking off my underwear when I did. Bye, bye, pink undies. I was surprised to see that she had worn a red one-piece under her dress. "When did you put that on?"

"In my closet."

"Can I ask you something?" She raised an eyebrow. "If you didn't wear a red bathing suit, would you have changed your purse?"

She grinned broadly at me and shook her head. "You're asking the wrong question, Jake. The real question is, if I hadn't packed a red dress would I have packed a red bathing suit?"

I laughed, bent at the waist. "You really are your aunt's niece, aren't you?" We both put our bags on as backpacks. "Ready?" She nodded enthusiastically, but bit her bottom lip as she looked out over the side. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around me, crossing her ankles right below the bag on my back. "Before we hit the water, I'll push you off. Let go, put your arms out, and dive, okay?" She nodded just as enthusiastically, but this time she looked excited and not nervous. I gripped the side of the rock with my toes and put my arms out straight at my sides. She wrapped her arm around my neck, burying her face right below my ear. "Hold on tight." She nodded into my neck. "1...2..." Her arms and legs tightened their grip on me. "3!"

I jumped off, moving my arms in opposite directions so that we were twisting as we fell. She screamed into my ear the first quarter of the drop and then she was giggling. I allowed myself to feel the rush of water getting closer and closer and being powerless to stop it, the rush of protecting this girl that was my life, the rush of the trust she put in me to keep her safe. It was love and wonder and fear and euphoria and pure happiness. The best part was, I know she could feel it, too, exactly as I did. As we neared the water, I moved my arms again, righting our momentum so that we fell straight. "Let go," I shouted and her grip loosened before I threw her a couple of feet away from me. We hit the water at nearly the same time, both of us barely disturbing the waves.

Her face was flushed as she surfaced and we stared at each other while we treaded water, reveling in the afterglow of being stronger than what it takes to kills mere mortals. Then, she turned, and started for our island. I took off my bag, letting it float on the tide for the second it took me to trade in the human shell for the wolf's body that lay dormant and had threatened to break out more than once today. The release felt great and I snatched up my bag between my teeth and hurried to try to keep pace with her, which was nearly impossible. She held back tonight, preferring to swim next to me than reach the island any faster. She showed off with perfect backstrokes so she could look at me while I swam the aptly named doggy paddle out. Twenty minutes later, we sprawled out on our backs atop our rock as we caught our breaths from our long swim and watched old clouds roll out to be replaced by new ones.

"Edward would kill me!" I smiled at the sky.

Nessie rolled over and leaned her weight on one of her elbows as she smiled down at me. "Then it's a good thing he'll never know."

I sat up as a horrible thought popped into my head. "The pack! He can still read the other guys' minds."

She smirked. "As long as the Alpha's under the shield, the rest of the pack is, too."

"Really?" She nodded and I fell back as I laughed. I laughed the pure, sweet laugh of freedom. "Is this about how good you felt when you got your shield?"

"No! I couldn't even enjoy it. I was still fearing the wrath of Edward Cullen. I felt what you're feeling the first time we went to the library in Boston."

I closed my eyes and smiled. "That was a good day. A shitty week leading up to it, but a good day." It was nice to be open with her about all this, now. "We can go a lot more now, you know. We'll just tell them we're going for a drive. We can go anywhere you want. It'll be a good summer, I promise."

"Are you really going to work at a garage this fall?"

"Yeah." I rolled over and mirrored her position. "Does that bother you?"

It was her turn to lay down and close her eyes. "A little. I know we're still going to be studying together a lot and I know I would just be busy if you were there, but I hated being alone all day when you were at school."

"But you weren't alone. You had everyone to hang out with and lessons with Jasper and lessons with Carlisle. You know Alice promised to teach you her power over the summer. You'll have a lot to practice in the fall with that one. I expect a full weather report every morning."

She didn't smile. "When I'm not with you I _am_ alone."

That broke my heart and I lay down beside her, bringing her towards me until her back was up against my chest. "You know why I'm getting a job, right? It's more than just the money, I mean. Not that I'm not looking forward to the day when I can build you a house, anywhere in the world you want it, with as many soundproof window-walls and over-sized closets and solarium/libraries as you want. And it's not even about the size of the place, either, if you wanted a shack, I'd build you a shack. I'll like the money because I can't wait to give you anything and everything you want forever and ever. But that's only half of it.

"I like working on cars, Ness. I'm good at it. I want to be a grown-up for a while just to prove that I can do it. I want to prove to Edward and Carlisle and Jasper and Emmett and Charlie and anyone else that I'm hard-working and good and _deserving_ of you. I'm leaving you for a few hours everyday so that one day I can _stay_ with you forever. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes," she said, grudgingly. "But who cares about them?"

"_I_ care about them. That's the kind of proof they need from me and I'm going to give it to them. It's only going to be a few hours a week. Besides, you can always write me more post-its."

She laughed, a teary laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. "I can't believe you kept them all."

"I can't believe you thought I'd throw them out!"

"Do you want to know a secret?"

"I don't know, is it about you?"

I could hear the smile in her voice. "Yes."

"Then, yes."

She turned around so that our noses were inches apart. "Do you know why I love post-it notes and rocks from La Push and pictures?" I shook my head. "Because I can't remember things." She nodded as she sensed my confusion. "It's true. My family can remember _everything_ and I can, too, to a certain extent. I can remember everything that ever happened to me after I was a couple of weeks old. I only remember a few things before then, like you imprinting on me and my mom almost killing you. I can remember everything I've ever heard or read or seen, but I can't easily remember what I was thinking or feeling during any of it. So, I use mementos to help me. If I'm reading something and I want to remember something it made me think about, I can mark it and then, when I see the marker I remember what made me mark it in the first place. That's why that memory I showed you with the rocks that day was so detailed, I thought about what I wanted to remember when I studied the rock and now, every time I look at it, I can remember the first time I saw it."

I'm sure my mouth was hanging open as I took in the purely balanced mixture of perfection and imperfection that is Renesmee. "Did Carlisle teach you how to do that?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "What part of secret do you not understand? They all think that my memory's just as good as theirs. I'm not going to tell them it's not."

"You're amazing. You know that, right?"

"I know that you think I am. I'm practically drowning in the awe you're sending my way. It's worth giving up a secret if I can feel that from you." We smiled at each other. "Your turn."

I smirked. "I see how it is. There's no such thing as a free lunch, huh?" She shook her head, trying to suppress her grin. I thought for a minute and then smiled. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"I don't know, is it about you?"

I smirked. "Yes."

"Then, yes."

"I like that you're calling me Jake now."

She smiled. "And I like that you're calling me Ness now. But that's not a secret. I felt your enjoyment every time I did it."

I was confused. "I've _never_ called you Ness before."

"Yes, you have. I only called _you_ Jake after you called _me_ Ness." She showed me the images that proved her point.

I gaped. "I had no idea."

"I know." She smiled. "I like it. It sounds more grown up."

"It does. Hi, Ness." I smiled. I liked it. It suited her.

"Hi, Jake. It's still your turn." I thought for another moment about what she would like the most. And then I had it, it was perfect. "Ooh, you've got a good one, huh? You're really excited about it."

"Do you want to know a secret, _Ness?_"

"I don't know, is it about you, _Jake?_"

"Yes." It was about her, too, but I didn't say that. I didn't want to spoil this game we were playing.

"Then, yes."

"Do you want to know what I saw when I imprinted on you?"

Her eyes lit up and she answered before she could stop herself. "More than anything." I raised the hand that wasn't supporting my weight and offered it to her. "I have an idea," she gushed. "I've been wanting to try this with someone for so long, but I know none of you like it when I steal your thoughts. I think it would be easiest with you, though, because you already do it. Do you know how you used to talk to Sam and now Embry when you're wolves? You once told me it was like speaking out loud. But you obviously don't try to use your voice while you're doing it, right? Or else it'll just come out like barks and howls and stuff, you know?" I nodded, completely unsure where this was going, but trusting her to lead us there. "Okay, I want you try it with me. Think of a sentence or something and repeat it to me the way you would if you were talking to Embry as your wolf-self."

So I did. I closed my eyes and thought about talking out loud, but not using my voice as I said, _**I love you, Ness**_ over and over again.

I felt her put a fingertip to my still-outstretched palm. "I love you, too, Jake." I grinned and opened up my eyes. She was grinning back at me. "Let's try it again. I think I can do it without touching you now that I know how it feels. Think of something else and try not to make it be about a feeling, so I can't cheat. In fact, ask me a question."

So I did. This time, I closed my eyes and asked, _**What's the date?**_ over and over again.

She hadn't touched me when she said, in a triumphant voice, "It's June 15th, now." She sighed. "It's much harder without contact and I can't really tell when you're doing it, I just guessed and started reaching for it as soon as you closed your eyes. Were you repeating it like you did the first time?" I nodded. "We need to practice that."

"Definitely." I think both of us were realizing at the same time what this meant. Not only did we now have a shield against Edward's power, we would be able to communicate without anyone knowing. I took her hand. I wasn't going to let it go. "That reminds me. Why did you talk to me in your thoughts, earlier? You usually only do that when you're reading to me?"

She looked down. "Did you not like it?"

"No! I mean, I loved it. Why did you do it?"

"For the same reason I want to practice _this_ with you. For the same reason I put my shield around you. I didn't want them to hear what I was telling you. It's like you said, earlier. We're one of them now. If my dad could project his thoughts into my mom, they would _never_ speak out loud. What's the use of all my powers if I can't use them to communicate with the most important person in my life however I want?"

I smiled at her and tucked a drying curl behind her ear. "You want to try an image, now? Imprinting on you is the most vivid mental picture I've ever had. If one's going to work, it'll be this one." She nodded eagerly. I thought for a moment about how much to show her. I couldn't let her see my desire to kill her or my love for Bella. Instead, I thought back to the exact second I looked into her eyes. I closed my eyes and let the scene play through just for me twice before squeezing Nessie's hand and pushing it forward in my mind like I had before.

She gasped when it was over and pushed so hard in her zealousness to hug me that I was knocked onto my back by all four and half feet of her nine-year-old-looking body. She landed on top of me and, as I pulled her closer to me, she projected everything I had felt in the moment and everything she had felt watching it until we were wrapped in a bubble of love and wonder and hope and promise and bliss. I sat up so she could wrap her legs around me and then we were rocking back and forth as our emotions overtook us and she sobbed into my bare neck as I sobbed into her curls. And, when the feelings had collapsed in on themselves under the sheer weight of it all we had stilled.

Very slowly, Nessie had moved away and I pressed my forehead to hers, anxious to regain contact. Her voice was small and thick as she said, full of awe, "It's so strong."

And I wanted to sing and dance and cry and laugh because she _got_ it. I finally had a partner, a _real_ partner who just relived the strongest experience of my life with me and seemed as inept to put it into words as I had been. And I never realized how alone I had been, even after imprinting, because it had been _my_ joy-filled burden to carry. In this second, it was _ours._ She knew how it felt, now. And I was so happy, because I finally got to show her how perfect and special and beautiful she is. To think, she woke up in the morning and _didn't_ know the entirety of the universe was centered around her!

"I have the best imprint _ever!_"

She responded me with a clear, pure, laugh. "Do you know what this _means, _Jake?" She placed her hands on the sides of my face and smiled so brilliantly at me that I had to return it. Neither of us tried to tear our forehead away from the other. I felt wetness from her eyes hit my cheek before I heard, "We're going to love each other this much for the rest of _eternity!_"

I shook my head, moving hers along with it in the process. "No, Ness. This is only the _beginning._ We're going to love each other _more_ than we do now. I don't know how it's even possible, but I know we will. It'll just keep getting stronger and stronger, just like it has been, for the rest of forever."

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**END OF BOOK ONE**

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**_Author's Note: _So, there it is. I hope I did justice to the biggest moment in young Renesmee's life, thus far. Thank you for sticking with me and reading the 175,000+ words it took us to get here. Three, maybe four, more books to go!


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